


It's (Never) Easy

by TheCreativeCasseroles



Category: Captain Marvel (DC), Justice League - All Media Types, Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Billy isn't getting a break, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Cross-Posted on Wattpad, Like ocs, he's just trying to have a good time, other characters are there too
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2019-01-27
Packaged: 2019-02-19 15:56:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 22,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13126977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheCreativeCasseroles/pseuds/TheCreativeCasseroles
Summary: Rumor: a currently circulating story or report of uncertain or doubtful truth. Honestly, no one should believe in them. They're absolutely terrible.Pies are delicious and wonderful.It's a shame that these two things are most likely how Billy got into this mess in the first place.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! You might know me as the author of Billy Bat Son or Magic! Or you might know me as an author for another fic that you liked and came to see what this one is about! Anyway, for those who have read the two fics I mentioned above, you'll noticed some things that are similar. I did that on purpose. Mostly because I liked those ideas haha. Anyway, for anyone who's curious, this is not a sequel to Billy Bat Son or Magic. This belongs to its own little universe. Also, for those who want an update on what's going on with Magic, I do have a third chapter in my docs as a draft, but it isn't finished. I'm unsure if I'll ever finish it, and if I do not post it, consider Magic as a twoshot. "But wait! It doesn't say it's complete!" You might say. Yes, well, I got to make sure people know that there's a chance that it's going to continue, if only one more chapter. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this and have a good day/night!

_‘Oh no oh no oh no oh gosh,’_ were the thoughts running around in one young Billy Batson’s head as he ran away from the place where he was being held hostage.

He then saw a light and knew that he would be safe once he made it over there.

But of course things weren't simple and an explosion went off behind him, throwing him forward.

For a moment it was almost as if everything slowed down, froze even, and Billy couldn't help but wonder how he got into the situation he was right then.

Then he remembered.

It was all because of pie and rumors.

* * *

 

With a smile on his face, Billy entered the Blue Bell Diner and sat down on the blue cushion stool at the counter.

As his smile grew, he waved his hand at Jasmine Kang, the owner of the diner. Then he held up his other hand and showed off a bouquet of bluebell flowers that were tied in a sky blue bow.

“Billy!” Jasmine gasped when her gaze landed on the flowers. She made her way over to the boy, having finished counting the money in the cash register to start the day, all the while keeping her eyes locked on the boy and his gift. “You shouldn't have!”

“But Jasmine!” Billy protested, still a smile upon his face. “It would look really pretty in here! And it's bluebells! It fits the name of your diner! And your blue bell that lets you know when people come in and out!”

The young woman couldn't help but sigh with a small smile on her own face. Her brown eyes held affection for the boy, not unlike one would for a younger brother.

“Thank you Billy,” she went to hold the gift while the child let her, “where did you get this?” She couldn't help but ask.

Billy only grinned, held a finger to his mouth, and winked.

“Oh I see how it's going to be.” She gave him a pointed look that turned his features sheepish. With a shake of her head, Jasmine went to go find a vase to put the flowers in.

A whistle grabbed Billy's attention to the window that led to the kitchen.

“Way to go Billy! Got some brownie points there.” Jasper Kang, Jasmine’s twin brother, teased the kid.

Billy actually rolled his eyes, still smiling and said, “I just thought that some flowers would be nice. And like I said, they fit your theme!”

The whole diner had the classic 50’s diner look except it was in shades of blue and white accents. The color used for the floor was a light blue and white checkered tiles. They did have a jukebox that not only had older songs but newer ones as well. On the walls were pictures of landscapes, most often with a bright sky or the sea. There were paintings of flowers as well as pressed flowers up on the walls.

It was a warm environment that invited all.

Jasmine came back with a clear vase with water and the flowers in it; blue bow still holding the bluebells together. She sat it down next to the cash register, but not to close. It was what she deemed as a safe distance away for just in case someone knocked it over. After that was done she turned her attention to the young boy.

“Alright. You didn't come here just to give me some flowers,” Jasmine cut to the chase as she leaned against the counter. “Want some pie?”

A blush bloomed onto Billy’s face, answering her question.

With a knowing smile, she turned to her brother and said, “one mixed berry pie.”

“Actually,” Billy piped up, “may I have two? One of them is for Uncle Dudley.”

Jasmine gave Billy a kind smile, tuck back a loose hair, and spoke the words, “sure thing. Jasper, make it two slices.”

Jasper nodded, giving the child a quick smile, then disappeared into the kitchen to get two slices of pie in boxes.

Billy nodded in turn and went to go grab his money, only to be stopped by a hand.

“It's on the house.” Jasmine told him.

The boy looked up at her, wide eyed, and was about to protest when he was interrupted.

“Think of it as a thank you.” Was all she said.

The bell went ‘ting’ as the door opened, indicating a newcomer.

Billy didn't pay much attention to that, while Jasmine greeted the customer, following them to their seat in order to get their order. Billy just let himself feel calm with the sounds the diner had to offer; the going ons of the kitchen, the walk that was Jasmine’s own and no one else's, the hum of the lights, and the silence of the jukebox as no one had offered it money to listen to a song.

It was peaceful.

If only it could be that way for the rest of eternity.

Often Billy would let his mind wander and into the thoughts of world peace or even peace throughout the universe. He knew that wouldn't be the case for where there is peace there is chaos. Like two sides of a coin they were. Without one there is no other. However he would still like to think of what it would be like; a place with only peace.

It would be nice. No war, no famine, no diseases. Of course there would still be death, but it would be when someone was so very old and their time has come. It would mean that they had a long and happy life and come to terms of what was to come. Children would play outside without fear of being harm or taken away from their families, and parents wouldn't have the worry or the pain that would come with losing a child or leaving them behind. Humans would live in harmony with nature and those who do not originate from Earth.

Yes, it was a nice thought, but it wouldn't be. Billy knew this for a long time and always will. Of course he could try to make such a place, but it wouldn't be perfect. The young boy would be content with that though. Knowing that he was able to let the people sleep a little easier, smile a little brighter, and laugh a little louder.

Yes, Billy Batson would be content with what little peace he could bring. Even if it meant that no one would know it was him.

“So, Billy,” were the words that brought the child out of his thoughts. It was Jasper. He was out of the kitchen and was on the other side of the counter where Billy sat, two white styrofoam boxes in hand. “I have a question for you.”

Jasper’s face was uncharacteristically serious with a hint of curiosity. It was rather strange and the young lad was wondering why.

Billy blinked. “Uh, ok. Shoot.”

“Is it true that you're Batman’s son?” The question Jasper asked made any and all persons within the diner look at the two. They gazed on even more curiously when Billy choked on his own spit.

“No!” He denied rather loudly. He then realized how loud he said it, then repeated it in a lower voice. “Where did you even hear that anyway?” He couldn't help but ask.

Jasper shrugged, face now in its usual relax state. “It's a rumor I heard.” He had said it so nonchalantly, it was as if he were talking about the weather. Perhaps it was for him, but for Billy it was a big deal.

The ten year old groaned, and face palmed. “Jasper you really shouldn't listen to rumors.” He resisted the urge to wag his finger at the older man. “Honestly, you should know this by now Mr. Kang.”

Both eyebrows went up on Jasper's face. “Ok wow, Mr. Kang. Haven't heard that in a while. You really don't like that rumor huh?”

That was an understatement.

Billy sighed. “It's just that's been going around for ages and people are believing it. Kids at my school are even starting to say I’m actually going to burst into a bunch of bats one day and then become Batman.”

Jasper had the audacity to chuckle at that. “And how did that started?”

“Well ya see, the kids think that Batman is a bunch of bats in a people suit or something like that, and decided that Gotham has too many bad people and formed the identity of Batman and that since I'm his son,” he used his fingers to make air quotes when he said the word ‘son’, “I’m going to do that too when Batman is done being Batman and take his place. Which means I’m going to either burst into a bunch of bats and get my own people suit or I’m already a bunch of bats in a people suit and they're waiting for the day the bats had enough and burst out of the people suit and fly into everyone's hair.”

At the start of Billy's… story, Jasmine had went to stand next to her twin, listening to what the kid had to say.

“That's…” Jasper began to speak.

“Quite the rumor.” Jasmine finished.

The boy gave the two a flat stare, as if to say ‘now do you see what I have to deal with?’

“I hope they die down soon.” Jasmine offered, not really knowing what to say.

“Yeah man. That sucks.” Jasper said. Then he pushed the boxes towards the child. “Now get going. Your uncle needs that pie.”

Billy smiled once more, took the boxes, said thank you and left.

* * *

 

As Billy walked down the street, he noticed something dash into an alleyway. He grew curious and followed. There he saw a small child hide behind a dumpster.

“Hey,” Billy called out softly, a kind smile on his face. “I’m not going to hurt you. It's ok.” He had said it calmly and as soothing as possible, not wanting to frighten to child.

Slowly, the small child came out, a bit hesitant.

Billy waited until the kid came a little closer before asking, “are you hungry?” He had asked this because he saw the hollowness in their face, showing that they don't get that many meals. And Billy should know, for he looked near the same as that child did.

The child seemed to shrink into themself, not wanting to truly answer.

“Here,” he sat down the box with his intended slice of pie on the ground, and backed up, “this is the greatest pie ever. It's mixed berry, but I’m not allowed to know much more than that. Blue Bell Diner likes to keep their recipe secret.” He then gave the child a wink.

A moment passed before the child finally went to go grab the box. They held it close to themself, as if afraid that someone would steal it.

Billy gave them another kind smile and said, “you should eat it slowly. That way you could taste it longer and your tummy will have more time to say that it's full.” He knew that saying the pros of something would help motivate someone to do that thing rather than saying the cons. He hoped the child does take his advice because he didn't want them to get sick from eating too fast.

The child nodded, and gave him a smile.

The boy’s own smile grew a little after that, knowing that the kid would have something in their stomach.

He began to turn to leave, but stopped himself. He looked back at the child and spoke once more. “Just down the street there's a shelter, but if you're staying away from shelters for whatever reason, find Miss Bambi. She's a nice lady that will let people stay at her place for a night at the least. If you don't want to find her, then there's a empty building near the edge of town right by the old fireworks factory. On the fourth floor there's good rooms that have doors, and are able to keep out the cold and rain and also has running water.”

He waited until the child nodded before he gave a small ‘have a good day’ and went his way home.

Billy may not have pie that day, but his uncle will, and he was okay with that.

As he continued to walk home, he waved to people with a smile who did so in return. Ever since Billy started to live with Dudley H. Dudley, he started to appear around adults more, knowing that he wouldn't go back into the system as he had a place to stay. Because of this, he helped the people more as Billy and many see the boy in a positive light.

Of course Billy was still a bit skittish around those in authority, but he still did his best to help them if they needed it.

Lost in his thoughts, the child had walked a bit too close to another alleyway, and unfortunately for him, the person within was not of the kind verity.

With a muffled shout, as a large hand went over his mouth, Billy was dragged into the darkness, dropping his box onto the ground. He felt a prick against his neck. An unnatural feeling of tiredness washed over him, and he tried to keep his eyes open, to stay awake, yet whatever drug that was inserted into his bloodstream overcame him.

Billy went unconscious in a stranger’s arms.

* * *

 

Slowly, but surely, Billy came to his senses. The first thing he noticed was that his head hurt, and that his body felt heavy.

The second thing he noticed was that when he opened his eyes, it was dark. He didn't feel anything on his face so the room he was in didn't have any lights. However he felt

The third thing he noticed was that his arms and legs were tied. The arms behind his back while his legs were curled up to his chest.

The fourth was that he was laying down on the floor.

His heart sped up. His breathing quickened. He was beginning to panic when a thought crossed his mind.

_‘Panicking will get you nowhere.’_

That thought crossed his mind multiple times throughout his life. It always helped calm him down, for he knew that it was true.

However, before Billy could try to gather any more information about his… situation, the click of a door opening and a blinding light that bathed him gained his attention.

Click clacks of shoes often worn by men with a good deal of money was going towards Billy. The child moved his head to the direction of the sound, being what would be his right had he have been sitting up. He could not see the person due to the fact that the light was at their back, making it hard to see their facial features. But by the silhouette, Billy had to guess that the person was a man.

“So…” A deep voice emerged from the stranger. The man stopped a foot away from Billy. “You must be the Bat son.”

Billy furrowed his eyebrows. Was it just him or did it sound like the guy separated his last name?

“Hmph.” The man took a step closer. “Definitely not what I expected.”

 _‘What_ did _you expected?’_ Billy couldn't help but think.

The stranger, most likely his captor, turned his head to the side, showing off what looked like a broken nose that healed wrong. He gestured his head towards Billy.

Another person walked over to Billy, probably a guard of some sort, and held a damp cloth over Billy's nose.

Unable to breath through his mouth, Billy was forced to breath in a sweet scent. He started to feel numb, and then was losing his sight and hearing. It was right before he lost conscious he remembered hearing about a drug often used for kidnaping and it's sweet smell.

It was chloroform and he would wake up in a few minutes.

Or at least Billy hoped he would wake up.

* * *

 

 

When Billy came too again, he was on a chair with a light above his head. He felt that his ankles were tied to the legs of the chair while his arms were behind the back of the chair.

“You’re awake, and just in time too.” The voice from before spoke up.

Billy whipped his head to where the voice was and immediately regretted it for his head began to pound.

The man was in front of him with what looked like a camera.

“My assistant here will untie your gag. Then you can scream all you want for your dear old father.” Were the words the mystery kidnaper said. Once again Billy furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. After that, Billy felt the cloth untie and fell onto his lap.

Billy was quiet for a moment, trying to see if he could make his mouth any less dry.

“Um,” he began, testing his words, “what are you talking about?” He asked.

This gained a hit to the head.

“Don't talk nonsense. You know.” Was the snarled reply.

“Actually I don't.” The child winced. “My dad's dead.”

The man scoffed. “That's a lie if I ever heard one. Don't try to get out of this, Bat son.”

“I'm not lying. And why are you saying my last name so weirdly?” Billy continued, trying to figure out what was going on.

This caused a pause.

“You are the son of Batman, thus, Bat son. A little birdie told me that you denied being his son while buying pie.”

The ten year old blinked. His features then showed frustration. “Are you serious? You're believing a rumor! That kids made up! My last name is Batson and kids made a connection that hey! Batman and Batson are kinda similar! What if Batson is Batman’s son? And you, adults that should be above rumors are believing in something like that? Why that's-” Billy was interrupted by a punch that made dark spots dance around his line of sight.

“Shut it you brat.” A dangerous growl emitted from his captor. “I must admit, you do bring up good points, but that doesn't matter.” The man then came closer.

Once under the light, Billy noticed the man had slicked back dirty blond hair, with dark green eyes. His skin was rather pale, yet not unhealthily so. His nose was the center of attention as Billy was right when he thought it was a broken nose that did not heal properly. The man looked handsome, yet his dark expression made him rather ugly.

He held his hand to the boy's face to make sure they held eye contact.

“You are a strange child, Batman’s son or not. You do not scream, you do not cry. You were rather calm weren't you?” His breath smelt of chocolates and mints that only graced those with an immense amount of money or power. “But it matters not. Batman will come either way and he will try to save you.”

This man moved his body so Billy would have a clear line of sight of the camera, forcing him to keep staring into it. Billy noticed the green light, and things started to click into place. His body stiffened, and his breath froze.

“It’s a trap,” he had whispered, so softly it was almost an exhale. “It's a trap!” He then yelled, wanting-no, needing to be heard.

“It's a trap! Don't come!” Billy began to struggle, having to somehow get out of his situation before Batman came.

This caused his kidnaper to punch him in the face so hard, he blacked out.

* * *

 

 

This was the third time Billy woke up in a place that was most definitely not home in what he thinks (read: hopes) was the same day. Honestly, he was getting tired of it rather quickly.

Blue eyes glanced around.

No one.

Just him and the camera.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

And a beep?

Billy froze. He strained his ears to try to find the source of the sound. It was close. Perhaps behind?

He craned his head over to where he thought the sound might be, silently wishing that it wasn't what he thought it was. But he caught a glimpse of red numbers and knew what it was. He bit back a groan.

Just his luck.

It was a bomb. And unfortunately Billy doesn't know how big the blast would be and how much time he had left.

He had to leave the building as soon as possible.

The boy turn his head to the camera, observing it. The light was red, indicating it was recording. Whether or not it was sending out said recording in a live stream, Billy didn't know. Although the probability of it was high.

What was he to do? He certainly couldn't turn into Captain Marvel. He could use magic to help get himself out of his bonds, but people might get suspicious if they were watching the video.

Unless he takes out the camera.

But should he do it with magic? Billy didn't have the Wisdom of Solomon with him as Billy Batson to answer him.

A thought slowly emerged.

He gave he chair an experiment scoot towards the camera. To his relief, the chair let him scoot.

With a determined nod, Billy began to scoot his way over to the camera. Eventually he made it over.

It was a simple camera really. It was on a tripod and everything. It had wires connected to it that went to the wall, most likely to screens in order for him to be watched.

He started to use his foot to turn the tripod around, making it so the camera wouldn't see him. Billy had a few scares, almost pushing it away instead of turning it, but he was successful.

Billy sighed in relief, yet he wasn't safe yet. He dared to scoot closer, and then head butted the camera, knocking it over.

It was most likely damaged now. Which means Billy could get to work.

He began to feel what was tying his hands together, to figure out what he had to deal with.

Zip ties.

 _‘Ok. I might be able to break out of these without my magic.’_ Billy thought. He remembered watching a video where a bunch of guys were able to do it, but the zip tie had to be tight.

With an experimental tug, the ties were considerably tight.

Tongue sticking out, Billy pulled his wrists away from each other. It took a couple of tries in order for them to break, but he did it.

All without his magic. He felt proud of himself for being able to do that.

He brought his hands forwards, rubbing his wrists. There were angry marks from where the ties were. The child winced, but quickly went about with the ties on his ankles.

Oddly enough they were ropes.

At this point Billy was genuinely wondering about how… smart his captors were.

Unless they're doing this to test him.

Ugh, he hates it when that happens.

With a shrug, Billy went to untie the ropes. The knots were more complicated, but they were sailor knots. And his best friend, Freddy, has taught him many a knot.

They fell from his ankles, allowing him to walk away.

He turned to look at the bomb, needing to know how much time he had left. His heart stopped for a brief moment when he saw the clock nearing the 6th minute mark.

Billy had no time to try to defuse it. He had to leave.

Now.

The young boy darted to the door, going to open it to find it locked. He quick took out a hair pin and beat his personal record to unlock it. The door didn't protest when he shoved it open.

Going faster than he probably ran before, Billy went to try to find his way out of the building.

Posters passed by. Familiar ones.

It hit him like a lightning bolt.

Billy was in the old, abandoned firework factory.

The child went into the factory a couple of times. Back when he was homeless. He had explored for a little while when he was there. Mostly when it was raining.

He took a sharp turn, remembering where he was. He jumped over fallen obstacles such as chairs and empty boxes. Billy went over tables, and went through doors.

A cable wire tripped him. The blue eyed boy went crashing down, only to scramble back up.

Billy knew he could turn into Captain Marvel and just get out of there. Yet he didn't on the off chance that he's being watched. No mortal was to know of who he was besides Uncle Dudley.

He just couldn't do that to the man who he saw as family.

His heart began to pound, and he imagined the clock ticking down.

 _‘Oh no oh no oh no oh gosh,’_ were the thoughts running around in one young Billy Batson’s head as he ran away from the place where he was being held hostage.

He then saw a light and knew that he would be safe once he made it over there.

But of course things weren't simple and an explosion went off behind him, throwing him forward.

For a moment it was almost as if everything slowed down, froze even, and Billy couldn't help but wonder how he got into the situation he was right then.

Then he remembered.

It was all because of pie and rumors.

Honestly, rumors were the worst.

Time went forward again, and as Billy began to tumble to the ground, he heard what sounded like a gun went off. Something wrapped around him, and he was yanked forward.

Billy went through the doorway and was pulled into someone's arms. They took whatever was wrapped around him off. One of the arms then was no longer holding him, but went to grab something to cover both him and the stranger that the arms belonged to.

It felt like a blanket of some sort that covered Billy from the rest of the blast. He felt safe.

It then gained his attention that the person was moving. Running even.

Billy peaked out of the blanket like object and saw that the light he noticed earlier was lights from a car illuminating the darkness that was the night.

Fear spiked through him. He was not going to be taken away again. The black haired boy began to thrash in his captor’s arms. He felt a sort of armor on the person’s body.

Just what he needed.

“I’m not going to hurt you.” A familiar, rough voice pierced through Billy.

The car door opened and Billy was put into the back seat. He was buckled in and the car immediately took off.

“You ok?” Another familiar voice, this one youthful asked. A boy in his early teens, wearing a domino mask was the owner of that voice. He was sitting shotgun, and had to twist his body to look at the younger boy.

The man who was sitting in the driver’s seat had a black cowl on, making it impossible to see his eyes.

Billy's mouth was gaping open, staring at Batman and Robin.

Memories from earlier rushed into the front of his mind, making him shut his mouth with a ‘clack’ of his teeth.

“Am _I_ ok? Are _you_ ok? It was a trap for you! You could've been hurt or-” Billy forced himself to stop, searching any injuries on the dynamic duo. Worry was clear on his face, for he never wanted this to happen.

“We’re fine!” Robin waved it away. A mischievous smile grew up on his face and he said, “we taught them a thing or two.”

“You’re the one kidnaped.” Batman stated in that usual tone of voice. “You were in a building with a bomb in it. You escaped.”

Blood rose into the ten year old’s cheeks. “I, uh, yes that was a thing. That happened. Sir.” Embarrassment filled him to the brim.

“Why were you kidnaped anyway?” Robin asked, curiosity filling his tone and what could be seen of his face.

This made Billy groan and face palm.

He could practically feel the raised eyebrows thrown his way.

“It’s really stupid, believe me,” he began, “see, my last name is Batson and kids at my school think that I’m…”

“Batman's son?” Robin offered, with a hint of mirth.

“Yeah. Well, when I went to go buy the best pie ever, the cook wanted to see if the rumor was true. And honestly how could he believe that? I am not Batman's son! Really, don't people know better than to listen to rumors? So of course one of the bad guy’s henchmen just had to overhear it.” Billy was ranting now. “So I got kidnaped because what a great idea! Kidnap the kid that people say is Batman's son! What could possibly go wrong? And so they bad guys were saying how I was your son and I kept on telling them that I’m not and-just really? Why would they believe that? If they heard any of the other rumors maybe they would know that they're not true! Come on!” He huffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

He wouldn't say he was angry. Just very irritated.

Then he realized what he did with growing horror. Billy Batson had just ranted to Batman and Robin.

He really wanted to disappear at that moment. Perhaps fate would be kind and say ‘none of this happened! It was just a dream!’

Nope. It was real.

Billy buried his face in his hands, trying to hide his blush.

“What's the other rumors?” Robin just had to ask.

This was how Billy Batson was going to die. He just knows it.

* * *

 

 

Billy knew that normally Batman wouldn't let anyone but a very small select few into the batmobile (for that's what the car had to be) so for him, Billy Batson, to be in the car was… well kind of a huge deal.

Of course Billy wouldn't tell anyone about it. It would probably make people believe the rumors more. He couldn't have that.

But before Billy could dwell on that any longer, for they pulled up to the apartment building where he lived with Uncle Dudley.

Batman and Robin helped Billy out, and walked him back to his apartment, letting him take lead.

They wanted to be careful.

While they were doing this, Billy reflected on what he was told.

It was a typical guy wanted revenge type of thing. However the bad guy, Chad Smith, was so intent on revenge that he was grasping a false lead in hopes that he could hit Batman where it hurts.

Obviously he failed.

In the time Billy was continually unconscious, Batman and Robin were taking Chad down and finding Billy.

Thankfully they made it in time or who knows what would happen to the boy.

When Billy made it to the door that led to his home, he knocked on it, wanting to let his uncle know that someone was at the door.

A moment passed before the sounds of locks becoming unlocked filled the silence. The door opened to show an elderly man with white thinning hair and a large stomach.

“Uncle Dudley!” Billy softly cried in joy, smile beaming at the man who he dubbed uncle. He ran up to him and gave the man a hug.

“Billy!” Dudley was, in a word, shocked. That didn't stop him from returning the hug however. He glanced at the two superheros that were standing behind Billy and furrowed his eyebrows. “What happened? You said you were going to buy us some pie.”

“I’ll tell you in the morning. It's kinda late.” Was Billy's response.

Dudley H. Dudley’s eyebrows seemed to come closer once his eyes saw a blemish upon Billy's face. “Is that a bruise?”

The child only turned around and waved at the heroes with a smile and said, “thanks for giving me a ride home! I hope you have a good night!” Billy then proceeded to push his uncle into their home, and closed the door.

“Billy?” Dudley asked, concerned for the boy who he saw as a nephew.

He watched Billy's shoulders slump down, showing weakness. “Can we talk about this tomorrow?” He asked, not wanting to delve into it.

Dudley stared at his little ward, taking in the child that had some many things to do.

“Alright.” He said, giving in. “But I imagine that you want something to eat before going to bed.”

Billy nodded, holding back a yawn. The adrenaline was finally dying down, and Billy wanted to sleep for a whole day at least.

Things were calming down, and the day was saved.

Everyone knows that it wouldn't ever be that easy.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! What's up? Did you think this was a oneshot? Well, you were wrong! Here is chapter two! I hope you enjoy it!

“This is really good!” Billy told his uncle. He was eating the eggs and toast that Dudley made. He had woken up refreshed and ready to tackle the day. However he became quite ravenous.

So here he was. Sitting at the dining table, eating breakfast.

“Thank you,” Dudley said as he sat down in his chair. He moved his hands to show he was going to eat his toast, but he paused. “Billy.” He said.

“Mh?” Billy looked up from his food to the man. He gradually stopped chewing as he saw the grave look on his uncle’s face.

“It's morning.” Was all the man said.

The child blinked, then swallowed his food. It was impolite to speak with one’s mouth full of food, after all.

“It is…” Billy sighed. He didn't want to talk about what happened, but he had to let his uncle know. “I was walking home with your slice of pie when I was taken into a alleyway and was knocked out…”

* * *

 

Once Uncle Dudley heard Billy's story, he told him to stay home for the day to work on any homework as it was a Sunday. Which Billy was happy to oblige since he needed to get it finished. However he was sad at the implications of what it meant to stay home. Thankfully nothing happened that required him.

Both Billy and Uncle Dudley knew that if anything bad was going on, Uncle Dudley couldn't keep Billy away. The man had unwillingly accepted this quite some time ago.

So Billy was a good boy and brush his teeth, shower, put on clean clothes, did his homework, cleaned his room (which was only a little messy), and cleaned the apartment. He ended doing the last one because he felt a bit antsy and thought cleaning their home would help. The reasoning he gave his uncle was that they needed to do spring cleaning.

It was the first day of spring after all.

“I was thinking of making Ms. Floros something,” Billy said as he swept the floor.

“Like what?” Uncle Dudley asked as he wiped down the counters of the kitchen.

“I haven't decided yet. Maybe a friendship bracelet.” He paused then turned to the older man and questioned, “we have yarn for that right?”

“That we do.” Dudley answered.

With a nod, Billy went back to work.

It was nearing noon, and Billy helped out with making a simple lunch of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a side of potato chips. They drank water as the two finished off the apple juice that morning. As they ate their lunch in a comfortable silence, Billy began to think what colors of string he should use in order to make the bracelet. Of course he should check to see what color yarn they had before he could think of color schemes.

He was thinking pastel colors if it were possible.

Once lunch was done, Billy went and washed the dishes as Dudley dried them and put them away. As Billy watched his uncle put away the last dishware, he began to fiddle with his fingers, waiting for the ‘nod of approval’ to go begin his mission.

Without looking at the child, Dudley nodded. He smiled when he heard hurried footsteps go towards the ‘yarn cabinet’ then to a room.

William Joseph Batson truly was a ray of sunshine in his life.

Dudley H. Dudley wishes that the day Billy would leave him all alone would never come. However he fears that he would outlive the child. Especially considering what Billy does.

With a sigh, Dudley’s shoulders slumped down. He doesn't know what he would do if the kid who he saw as a nephew, or dare he even say, his son would never come home one day.

Thankfully for young Billy, there were many colors to choose from. In the end he chose, a vibrant green, a dark brown, and a bright red that was close in shade to his sweater. He then thought how big exactly the wrist of Ms. Floros’ was, but then he decided that he’ll figure it out later on, and if the bracelet didn't quite fit, it could be an anklet.

Billy buckled down to start on making the bracelet, deciding on going with the classic braid that would be seen in hair.

It took a while, but he eventually made it. He was about to cut the extra yarn off when he got an idea.

Quickly, Billy went to go look for pale pink yarn. It was under the yellow, burgundy, and orange yarn. He ended up taking the pink yarn as well as a pure white one and a lavender one. He stared at the yellow yarn for a moment before taking that one too.

The child grabbed a circular cardboard with nails on it, started to wrap the pink yarn around the nails, and began to create flowers made from yarn.

Young Billy learned how to make the flowers in his art class with the special tool that he was now using, during the winter. He had fell in love with the craft and thought Ms. Floros would be pleased with what he had learned.

She did like plants after all.

When the flower was done, Billy kept the same string of yarn to make a little loop; to put it on the bracelet.

Billy did the process of creating those yarn flowers three more times with the other three colors. Once done, he examined each one.

The color pink means friendship, affection, harmony, and approachability.

The color white is most often associated with purity, innocence, light, and goodness. But it also means safety, brilliance, understanding, cleanliness, faith, beginnings, spirituality, possibility, sincerity, protection, and softness. Quite a bit if one were to ask Billy.

Lavender is a shade of purple which is quite rare in nature. Thus royalty would be associated with it as well as nobility, luxury, power, and ambition. However women would wear the color lavender for it represents femininity and beauty since it is softer.

Yellow tend to be seen as sunshine, hope, and happiness. It also means positivity, energy, optimism, remembrance, intellect, honor, loyalty, and joy.

These were the reason why he chose those colors. Well, that and they reminded him of fruits in their blossom stage.

The colors for the bracelet itself were different.

There was a knock on Billy's door.

“Come in.” Billy called, still staring at the flowers he made.

Uncle Dudley walked in to see yarn all over the floor of Billy's bedroom while the child was sitting at his desk. Taped to the desk was the bracelet and four flowers made from yarn.

“You certainly look occupied.” Dudley rose an eyebrow.

Billy quick shot a sheepish smile over to his guardian then went back to staring at the flowers.

The old man made his way over to Billy, eyes switching between the boy and the flowers.

“You going to work your magic?” He asked, interested on what his ward would do.

“Maybe?” Billy tilted his head. “I need the practice and I think if I did she’ll see how much I’ve improved.”

Uncle Dudley hummed. “Well, whatever you do, I think she will like it either way.” With a pat to Billy's shoulder, Dudley walked away from the boy, leaving him to his devices.

Finally coming to a decision, Billy furrowed his eyebrows, and nodded in confirmation on what he was going to do.

He went to his bed, then underneath it. He picked up a loose floorboard and grabbed a red, white, and yellow book out. He smiled at it as he made his way out from the underside of the bed and to the desk.

Later on, Billy came out of his room, searching for substance to consume when the scent of spaghetti filled his noses.

The boy practically floated towards the dining area, more than ready to eat dinner.

“It smells so good!” Billy exclaimed, salivating at the scent.

“It better be good.” Dudley said as he brought over two plates to the table.

“I bet it's good!” Billy grinned at the man, finishing off their right before dinner ritual.

The spaghetti had classic red sauce and meatballs on it. What surprised Billy was some green bits in the meat.

“What's that?” Billy asked, pointing at the green flakes.

“Oregano. Heard it's good for you,” Dudley said as he cut a meatball in half to eat it. “Not half bad.” He grunted.

Billy blinked and cut one of his meatballs in half as well, trying a bite. His eyes lit up and he went “mmmm it's delicious!”

The man simply nodded, acknowledging the fact that he would have to make it like that again. Maybe with onion bits in it next time.

“So you used that book of yours?” The man asked. He took a bite of the noodles.

The ten year old took a sip of water. “Yep.”

“That's good.” Uncle Dudley paused for a moment. “I know nothing about all that stuff. But I do know it's always good to have a guide.”

Billy nodded, agreeing with him. It is nice to have a guide to fall back on.

After that, the duo continued their dinner with idle chatter. Soon they finished off, and Dudley told Billy to get ready for bed.

Billy changed into his pajamas and went to go brush his teeth. When he was done he used the bathroom, washed his hands, and went straight to bed.

He slept like a rock.

* * *

 

As Billy walked up to the school, he craned his neck this way and that, searching for someone.

“Looking for me?” Came a familiar voice behind him.

Billy gasped, spun around, and a large grin split his face at who he saw.

A woman with long, wavy, dark brown hair that shone with a red tint to it in the sunlight was held up in a high ponytail. She had a high forehead that did not glisten with oil. She needed no maskcara as her eyelashes were thick. She wore eyeliner that made her large, green eyes with flecks of brown pop out. Rectangular glasses donned her face. The nose was smooth and straight. No curve or bump in sight. Her lips were full and painted red with lipstick, while her cheeks held a natural blush. Her skin was rather white, as it looked like she hadn't seen the sun in months. That could easily be changed to an olive if she were to spend time outside. She was slightly plump, healthily so, but she was also fit and could probably win a fist fight if she needed to.

Her shirt was a simple purple shirt where the sleeves ended at her elbows while she wore the same shade of purple, flowing skirt; making it look like she were wearing a dress rather than a shirt and skirt. Her shoes were brown flats.

The woman was in a word: beautiful.

“Ms. Floros!” Billy exclaimed, running up to her.

“Billy,” she smiled, showing off perfectly straight, white teeth. Her features then showed concern as her eyes zeroed in on a dark bruise on Billy's face. She held up a hand, almost touching the boy's face, but not quite. “What happened?”

Billy blushed. “Don't worry about.” He mumbled. He then perked up and went rummaging around his pocket. He smiled when he felt what he was looking for, brought it out, and held it up to Ms. Floros. “I made this for you.”

“Oh Billy.” Ms. Floros gasped when she saw what was in Billy's hand. It was the bracket Billy had made the other day with the four flowers on it. She looked at it closer, noticing something special about it. “Did you…?”

“Yep!” Billy chirped. “I’ve been practicing!”

A knowing smile grew while Ms. Floros’ eyes twinkled. “You are getting better.” Was what she said.

* * *

 

Not a moment later when Billy sat down at his desk, the announcements came on.

The Pledge of Allegiance went first, then the date, what would be for lunch, and then the part of announcement that Billy was waiting for.

“As some of you know, it's officially spring. This means our school’s gardener has returned. Let us welcome back Anfisa Floros from her time in Greece to Fawcett City Elementary School! For those who don't know her, she takes care of our very own garden! Which includes flowers, vegetables, and berries! We use the vegetables and berries in our lunch program. We also let you, the students, help take care of the garden with Ms. Floros as your teacher.” The announcer then went on to other things. Once that was done, class begun.

* * *

 

“May I speak with you for a moment?” Ms. Floros managed to get to Billy before he left. They were currently in the halls of the school.

“Hm?” Billy turned back to the woman. “Ok.”

Together they walked into a secluded classroom, one where everyone had already left.

“What do you want to talk about Ms. Floros?” Billy asked, once the door was closed.

“For one thing, we are alone right now, so you don't have to call me that.” She said, a kind smile on her face.

“Alright… Persephone.” Billy paused for a moment, “you didn't take me here just to talk about your name.”

“That's correct,” Anfisa Floros, or rather, Persephone, nodded, “I wanted to talk about this.” She held up her wrist. The bracelet Billy had made was on it.

Billy began to feel a bit nervous as Persephone’s face was blank. “Did-did I do good?” He asked.

“Billy…” she didn't spoke for a moment. Then she said in a serious tone, “you did wonderfully.” A smile appeared on her face.

The child breathed out a sigh of relief.

“The spells that you placed on each of these flowers, why, you did such an amazing job, I’d you did it almost perfectly.”

“Aw shucks,” he blushed as he scuffed his shoe against the floor, “it's just simple little ones.”

“But still.” The woman knelt down. “You are growing stronger and more skilled. I am so proud of you.” She then hugged him.

“Thank you.” Billy murmured. He went to hug her back.

They stayed like that for a moment before Persephone went back.

“The other thing was, I want to take you on a little field trip.” She said, offering him a small smile.

“A field trip?” Billy repeated, tilting his head. “Where to?”

“Well, that's the surprise! But of course I’ll need permission from Dudley.”

The young boy nodded, but then stopped. “You’re not going to try to take me to your kingdom to stay and live with you again… are you?” He asked in a suspicious voice.

Immediately her face fell. “No”

Billy just gave her a look.

“I am serious! Look, as much I want you to live with me as my child, that is not what I’m going to do. We’re going on a field trip and your only hint is ‘plants’.”

Blue eyes sparked at the hint. Of course it would involve plants. Persephone _is_ the Goddess of vegetation.

“Alright. I’ll let Uncle Dudley know.” He said. “When is this?”

“This Saturday.”

The child made a noise of confirmation.

* * *

 

When Billy got home, he quickly did whatever was left of his homework, as he tended to do most of it at school. Once that was done, he went up to his guardian.

“Hey Uncle Dudley?” Billy stood next to the man who was sitting down on the couch.

“Yes?” Dudley looked from the tv to the boy.

“I’m heading off. The usual.” Was what the young child said.

“Well, alright. But be careful you hear me?”

Billy beamed. “I will! See ya later Uncle Dudley!”

He then left for the door, but stopped short. “Oh, and Ms. Floros is going to take me on a field trip.”

Dudley rose an eyebrow. “Where to?”

“It's a surprise.”

The man let out a long sigh. “Well… alright. As long she doesn't try to take you to her home and keep you there. And if she does, you come straight back here. Understand?”

“Yes Uncle Dudley!” With that said, Billy left.

The child ran out of the apartment, to the streets, and into a hidden alleyway where he knows that no one would see.

With a powerful voice, Billy said one word to the heavens above.

**“Shazam!”**

A bolt of magical lightning struck down onto the boy, transforming him into Earth's Mightiest Mortal: Captain Marvel.

Captain Marvel grinned, then left to the nearest zeta tube, leaving Fawcett City.

* * *

 

“Hey there Flash.” Captain Marvel greeted as he walked up to the monitor. “It's my turn.”

The fastest man alive spun the chair around to face the mighty man. “Hi Captain. How's things over in Fawcett?” The Flash then got out of the chair in order to let Captain Marvel to sit down.

“Pretty decent I’d say,” Captain said as he sat down. “A friend of mine came back to Fawcett today and invited me to go with them to someplace on Saturday.”

“Oh? Is this a date?” Flash asked, genuinely curious.

The magical man sputtered, cheeks red. “Please never ask that again.” Was all he said.

It was just his luck that Green Lantern, Hal Jordan, came in that moment.

“Don't ask what again?” He questioned, coming up to the two heroes.

Marvel groaned. “It’s nothing, Hal.”

Flash only shrugged. “If he doesn't want me to ask it again, I won't.”

“But what is it?” Curiosity was beginning to eat at the Green Lantern.

“It's nothing. I’m just hanging out with someone on Saturday.” Captain Marvel tried to wave it away. He went to go sign in, indicating that he was there for his shift.

“Where to?” Hal began to lean against the back of Marvel’s chair.

“Probably should stop interrogating the Cap. Don't want Batman to see you’re distracting him on the job.” Flash warned Hal.

“Eh.” Green Lantern shrugged. “Can't I catch up with a friend?”

“As much as I would love to indulge you the info of my life, I gotta get to work.” Captain Marvel said rather good heartedly. Truth be told, he did not want Batman to get angry at him. He felt it would be awkward for him since the caped crusader saved him the other day.

“Ugh. Fine, be that way.” Gal groaned. “Come on Flash, let's go eat some pizza.”

As the two superheroes walked away, Captain Marvel called out, “save me a slice!”

If Captain Marvel were to be honest about monitor duty, he would say it was boring. Sure it was necessary, but it was very boring.

And it looked like he would be the only one on it right then.

“Captain Marvel.” A familiar voice spoke.

“Yes Batman?” Captain Marvel asked, glancing away from the screen.

“Flash and Green Lantern mentioned that you were going out with a friend this Saturday.” He told the man in his usual gruff voice.

The mortal gave Batman a questioning look. “Yes. Why? Is that a problem? If it is, I’ll see if we could rescheduled.”

Batman didn't answer, only stared at Captain Marvel. Then he said, “is that where you were, last Saturday?”

This caught Marvel off guard. “Excuse me?”

“Two days ago, were you with that friend?”

“Uh. No. Something else came up. Why?” Concern began to well up within the captain. “Did something happen?”

“A child was kidnaped.” Batman was blunt and to the point.

Shock ran through Captain Marvel and he practically flew out of the chair. “What? Are they okay? How haven't I heard of this?”

Batman rose a hand to stop Captain Marvel from speaking any further. “The child’s fine. I saved him, and I made sure nothing went out. He didn't seem like he would want something like that to be known.”

Captain Marvel relaxed a bit. However he beating himself up on the inside.

How could he let himself get kidnaped as Billy Batson? There was another child out there that was taken as well! They were probably counting on him, Captain Marvel to save them!

“Thank you Batman. I don't know how to repay you for this.” Captain Marvel bowed, showing how much gratitude he felt for the dark knight.

“I’ll think of something.” Was all the man bat said, before fading into the darkness of the Watchtower.

* * *

 

It felt like a long week to Billy. Nothing really much had happened and there was no crime for Captain Marvel to take care of. Billy got all of his homework in, and he learned about what types of animals and insects help plants.

Such as hummingbirds help spread pollen like bees do.

When Saturday came, Billy was excited yet a tad nervous. Where would they go? Would Billy learn about a rare magical flower?

A knock on the door brought him out of his thoughts.

“Coming!” He called, running up to the door. When he opened it, Ms. Floros was there in a green top and brown pants.

“Are you ready, Billy? Do you have everything you need?” She asked with a smile.

“Yep!” Billy nodded. He turned his head back and yelled, “I’m going Uncle Dudley!”

“Alright! Be careful, be safe!” Uncle Dudley yelled back. He was in his room at the moment, getting the sheets off his bed in order to wash them.

“Don't worry! I will!” Billy called to him before he walked out the door with his teacher.

“We are going to teleport to our destination, okay?” She told him, taking his his hand in hers.

“Okay.”

Together, the two disappeared from Fawcett City.

The next thing Billy knew, he was in a large greenhouse with many plants. Most of which were large and were reaching for the glass ceiling.

“Holy moly!” Billy gaped at the plant life around him. Something nagged at the back of his head that some of the plants look very familiar, but he chalked that up to seeing them in books or on tv.

It smelt so fresh, like earth, dew, and many exotic flowers. It was so refreshing compared to the city.

 _‘Maybe Fawcett should get a giant greenhouse like this!’_ Billy thought. _‘Or maybe make a huge park where there's nothing but plants and trails for people to on!’_

Ms. Floros looked at Billy and said, “could you wait here for a moment? I am going to go get our guide.”

The child nodded, slipping his hand out of hers while he still looked on in awe at the plant life around him.

When she left, Billy observed the flora. There were many large plants, as he saw before and thus grabbed his attention, but there were smaller ones as well. Most of the smaller ones were flowers, and were very pretty.

One grabbed his attention, and he couldn't help but get closer.

The flower was blue and the leaves looked like hoods that monks would wear. Instantly Billy recognized it as monkshood or wolfsbane.

“Huh,” he murmured as he took a step back, not wanting to touch it.

He knew that wolfsbane was a poisonous plant and he would be in trouble if he touched it. Although it would be deadly to eat it, however small the portion was, it would be bad to simply touch it. It would get worse the longer he would hold it or of the like, but he wasn't going to see if a quick poke would do anything.

“I am back!” Ms. Floros called from out of Billy's line of sight.

The child turned to see his teacher walk with someone so unexpected, Billy stared in shock while the blood drained out of his face.

“Poison Ivy?” Billy managed to squeak out.

There, standing next to Ms. Floros, was Poison Ivy; one of the villains that terrorized Gotham was looking rather unhappy.

Poison Ivy’s eyes went over Billy's form, and said, “it looks like _someone_ acknowledges what I could do.”

“But you are not going to do it, now are you?” Ms. Floros spoke in a tone of voice that left no room for argument.

A noise that sounded much like a whine escaped from Billy's throat. “Why - what?” Is what he managed to say.

Ms. Floros smirked. “Let's just say she owes me a favor.”

This made Billy's jaw drop. He stared at the two women and whispered, “what did you do?”

He wasn't sure if he wanted to know.

“Do not worry,” Ms. Floros said as she walked up to Billy, “this is me calling up on a favor. Oh, and do you remember our little code names?”

Billy just nodded, not trusting his voice.

“I will be called ‘Spring’ and you will be called ‘Sapling’.” She told him, just to make sure he remembered.

“Can we just get this over with?” Poison Ivy spoke. She made her way over to the duo with a frown on her face. “Your mom here demanded that I teach you about plants. She was vague about it, so I suppose I have to teach you a variety.”

While Ms. Floros held back a smile at the ‘mom’ comment, Billy frown.

“She isn't my mom.” He said, immediately shooting that idea down.

Poison Ivy shrugged, not caring if she was wrong. “Let's start with the poisonous plants. If there's anything you need to know first about plants in general, it's the ones that can do much harm.”

And so she began the tour, as Ms. Floros was insistent to call it, teaching Billy about the poisonous plants.

Currently they were in front of a fig tree.

“Wait,” Billy furrowed his eyebrows, “figs are poisonous?” He turn to look at Poison Ivy.

“Well, toxic, but if they're not ripe.” She said, then pointed to the green figs. “Their skin being green shows that they're not ripe. And a milky fluid will leave the stem if you pick it. It's not good for you to get that stuff in your eyes or mouth.”

She paused for a moment, thinking. She took a glance at Ms. Floros before probably thinking ‘fuck it’.

“Figs are actually quite healthy for you, when ripe of course, and it is used for medicine as well as its leaves.” Poison Ivy told him. “It can fight cancer, it can protect the blood from parasites, bacteria, and blood diseases, and help blood pressure. It can be used as a laxative if you eat two of them. It's good for if you have gout, arthritis, or skin problems. It's good for if you have an ulcer or tapeworm. You can use the sap on wounds and warts. Of course that would take about one to two weeks if you applied it everyday and put gauze on top. Atherosclerosis could be prevented by figs as well.”

As Poison Ivy was about to movie to continue on the lesson on the plant life, Billy made spoke.

“Um, Ms. Poison Ivy?” He hesitantly piped up.

“Hm?” She turned to the boy.

“What's gout, ulcer, and atherosclerosis?” Billy's face scrunched up when he said the last word, knowing he pronounced it wrong.

Poison Ivy eyed Billy. “The deal was that I tell you about plants and what they do to the human body. Not what type of illnesses humans can get.”

In the corner of Billy's eye, he could see Ms. Floros about to protest, but he stopped her. “That seems fair.” He said, shrugging.

The plant villain eyed the child once more, before going on to the next plant.

As the trio went through the greenery, learning more about the dangers of what plants could do, the sky grew darker.

And darker.

And darker.

Outside there were no stars or moon. Only black clouds that covered the whole sky like a smothering blanket. Whatever light that was in the building full of flora, was from bulbs hanging from the ceiling and walls.

Ms. Floros took one look at the glass ceiling, seeing the black sky, and came to a decision.

“It is time for us to leave.” Ms. Floros spoke. She then turned her head to Billy and said, “I am going to talk to Poison Ivy for a moment and then we will go back.”

Billy only nodded, as he watched his teacher lead Poison Ivy to a place where he wouldn't hear the two talk.

What could have been two seconds later did Billy hear something behind him. The boy whirled around to see the Dark Knight and his squire.

“I wasn't kidnaped, I promise.” Billy blurted out.

Robin only rose an eyebrow while Batman narrowed his eyes.

“Then what are you doing here?” Robin asked before Batman could.

Heat began to rise in the ten year old’s face. Life wasn't exactly going his way now was it?

“See, my teacher decided to take me to a field trip and brought me here to learn about poisonous plants so I’ll know what to avoid if I go camping.” Billy shuffled his feet. It was partially true, Ms. Floros did want him to know his plants if he would camping, but if he were stranded somewhere where he couldn't transform into Captain Marvel.

It's also good for knowing what not to use for any herbal medicine.

“Your teacher?” Batman's ruff voice brought Billy back to the present.

“She takes care of the garden at my school and she teaches the kids how to take care of it.” Billy explained.

“Why would your teacher bring you to _Poison Ivy_ though?” Robin pointed out.

The child only shrugged. “Apparently Ms. Poison Ivy owes her a favor.”

“What favor?” Billy knew that even if it sounded like a command, it was actually a question.

“Dunno. That's all I’ve been told. Maybe she helped Ms. Ivy back before she became Poison Ivy.” He suggested. Billy looked straight at Batman, concern written on his face. “Did something bad happened? Is that why you're here?”

Batman's face was immobile, his eyes unseen in cloak of white. Robin’s face was less so, however his eyes were just the same, hidden. But if Billy could see behind the mask, he would've saw Robin take a glance at Batman.

“I need some answers from Ivy.” Batman said, voice not giving any hints as to his emotional state.

Slowly, Billy relaxed, not knowing he was tense. “Okay,” he nodded, “but please be… considerate of Ms. Ivy. I don't think she liked teaching me about the plants that much.”

Batman grunted.

The boy wonder stepped in with a smirk and said, “that's batspeak for ‘yeah’.”

The child nodded, accepting this.

“Sapling,” Billy turned to where he heard his code name. It was Ms. Floros’ voice. “I am done talking with Poison Ivy.”

Billy quick looked back to the dynamic duo only to see them gone.

“Are you ready to go home?” Ms. Floros put a hand on his shoulder, stealing his attention.

“Yep!” He the searched for Poison Ivy from his spot, finding her easily. He gave her a soft smile and said, “thank you for teaching me about the plants here. I hope you have a good night.”

She only nodded her head. Ivy looked tense. Was it from her talk with Ms. Floros or was it something else? Did she know that Batman and Robin were in there at that moment? Or at the very least were in her greenhouse? Billy didn't know, he had no answers.

“Come along Sapling,” Ms. Floros began to tug Billy towards the entrance of the building.

“Yes Ms. Spring.” Billy said. He then repressed a yawn. He hadn't realized how tired he was.

Once they were probably a good distance away from both the greenhouse and wherever Batman was, Ms. Floros teleported them back to Uncle Dudley’s apartment.

What happened after that was a blur for Billy, being too tired to remember. However it was in the middle of the night where he woke up with startling realization that he had spoken with Batman and Robin rather easily as Billy Batson twice in one week.

Once after he escaped from a kidnapping, and once at was probably _Poison Ivy’s_ evil lair.

And he thinks he might've accidentally implied that his teacher was a bad guy and was going to teach him how to be evil too.

This wasn't good. At all.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh? Did you think the second chapter would be the end of this? I think not. This keeps you all on your toes. Is this the end or will there be a new chapter? Tbh I probably shouldn't do that but it makes things a tad more interesting no? Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter too!

Billy whined. This was just great. Just what he needed.

The child stared at his ceiling, wide awake with adrenaline coursing through his veins. Just the mere thought that Batman would be even _slightly_ interested in Billy Batson made his heart leap into his throat. He didn't want _any_ interaction with any heroes while he was Billy. At least if it was unnecessary for any interaction.

They couldn't find out he’s actually Captain Marvel. They couldn't.

But would they really come to the conclusion that a kid could transform into a powerful adult? Probably not if they don't have a lot of clues and see him transform right in front of their eyes. Yet Billy didn't want to take that chance.

Odds are Batman was at _least_ a little suspicious about who Billy exactly was due to those two meetings.

Maybe Billy was getting paranoid, maybe he was being cautious. Either way, surely nothing good would come about by this.

Realizing that Billy would get absolutely no sleep from there on out, he got up.

He didn't have any homework, so he couldn't do that. Then it came to him; he hadn't drawn in a while.

Billy wasn't exactly the greatest artist compared to the rest of the kids in his grade, but it wasn't exactly bad either. It was mediocre at best, and Billy was okay with that. However that doesn't mean he wasn't going to try to get better at it.

He went to go turn on his lamp that was on his desk so he could see. He rummaged around the desk in order to find a paper and a pencil.

Billy found four pieces of paper and a sharp pencil with a full eraser.

With the pencil in hand, Billy began to draw. It was doodles mostly. There were a tiger or two, and at some point Billy decided he wanted to try to draw some of the plants. He didn't have any reference to these plants, only his memory.

He drew the foxglove, lily of the valley, oleander, bleeding heart, and a nightshade. Of course these weren't all of the plants that he learned to be poisonous, and he already knew about the foxglove and the nightshade to be toxic, but he was surprised by the rest. Anyway, if he were honest, the lily of the valley and the bleeding heart were the easiest to draw. The others were more of a challenge, but he thinks he did a decent job.

There was one paper left, and Billy didn't know what to draw. He was all out of ideas.

He rest his gaze on a picture frame on his desk. In the frame was the last picture Billy had of him and his parents. They were at a circus and they wanted to remember it by taking a picture. Billy was happy to have it.

Then, an idea popped up.

It was as if the muses had went to give him a visit. He stuck his tongue out in concentration. Each sketch of the pencil was careful, light, so if he made a mistake, the eraser wouldn't have a hard time erasing it.

Who knows how long he was drawing, but when he put the final touches of dark lines on where he wanted it, he knew he was done.

Billy looked at the paper in pride. It had to be his best work as of yet.

It was a drawing of his parents, his Uncle Dudley, and him. He tried to draw his mother much like she was in the picture, but a little older, and drew his father much like Captain Marvel. Captain Marvel looked like his dad after all. Uncle Dudley was in his best suit while Billy himself was wearing his favorite red sweater.

A yawn escaped, letting Billy know that time was catching up to him.

With that, Billy went back to bed after turning off the light. Once snuggled in his blankets, Billy drifted off to sleep.

Albeit rather uneasy.

* * *

 

Sunshine from a glorious Sunday morning shone through the cracks in the curtains, hitting Billy right in the eyes. This caused him to wake up with a groan.

Sleepily, the ten year old crawled out of his bed. Arms and legs stretched out, getting blood to flow through them once more. After that, he shuffled out his bedroom door, and into the rest of the apartment. Uncle Dudley wasn't in the kitchen, but there was a note on the fridge.

With squinted eyes, Billy read the note.

“Went out to work. There's cereal in the cupboard. - Dudley”

It was short; it got to the point.

As Billy went to grab the cereal, he began to think what he should do that day.

* * *

 

Even though Billy had plenty of time (as he brushed his teeth and showered after eating breakfast) to think about how he should spend his day, he couldn't think of one thing. It might've been because of the startling thought he had last night.

Right. That.

With a huff, Billy plopped down his bed, and looked out the window.

 _‘What should I do?’_ He thought. _‘Should I just… stay inside unless I have school and Justice League duties?’_

He shook his head. That wouldn't work. A sigh disappeared into the air.

What should he do indeed.

“I guess I'll do what I usually do.” He whispered to himself. He got off his bed and went to a jar that said ‘groceries’ on it with money in it.

Billy had a few jars in his room that had money in them. Each were labeled. One was ‘pie’, the second one was ‘presents’, the third said ‘savings’, and the fourth one was the groceries one. Of course there was a swear jar in the kitchen, but there was hardly any money in there. Most of it was from Uncle Dudley, but there was a couple from Billy. Accidents of course, but Billy paid anyway, accident or not.

Anyway, the jar labeled ‘groceries’ had quite a bit of money in it. The child eyed it for a moment before nodding to himself.

He took the money out, quick counted it, put it in his pocket, and left the apartment.

* * *

 

There was a local general store that was more grocery than anything, but it was still known as a general store. They sold their goods cheep, but the quality of said goods were often times better than the goods at other stores within the city of Fawcett. This of course brought a lot of customers to their doors and kept them afloat after so many years.

Miscellaneous Store was its name. Billy guessed it was because it sold much more stuff back when it was built.

He waved to the employees and any customers that he could see when he walked in. Grabbing a basket, Billy went to the foods section. Looking around, the child tried to find the best of the best that was within his price range.

Billy hummed at the bananas. “If I get you, you’ll take a while to ripen.” He spoke to a bunch of green bananas. “But if I get you you’ll get eaten right away or you'll turn brown. I know people can still eat you when you're brown, but a lot of people here like to eat you when you're yellow.” This time it was aimed at a yellow bunch of bananas.

The green bananas had a little more than the bunch with the yellow bananas. Neither had any bruises, but ultimately the green bunch looked to be the better option of the two.

“You looking for a good deal?” A foreign voice questioned from behind the child.

“Hm?” Billy turned his head to look and saw a man with black hair, blue eyes hidden behind glasses, a soft smile, and a square jaw. He looked familiar, but it wasn't in the way that he looked kind of similar to Billy's own father, Clarence Charles Batson V.

“You’re trying to find some good for a good price?” The man rephrased his question.

“Oh!” A small blush appeared on Billy's face. “Uh, yes sir. Sometimes it's kinda hard to decide which is better, ya know?”

The man nodded. “Personally I think the green bunch would be better if you don't plan on eating it right away.”

“I was thinking of buying it.” Billy paused. “Unless you want it sir.”

The man waved it away. “No, I wasn't going to buy any bananas.” He then held out his hand. “My name is Clark Kent. What's yours?”

The child didn't answer right away, not sure if he should give his name to the stranger, but he couldn't help but think that this man didn't hold any ill intentions. It might've been because of the resemblance to his father.

Finally the boy shook the man's hand and said, “I’m Billy Batson. It's nice to meet you Mr. Kent.”

“It's nice to meet you too, Billy,” Mr. Kent said as the two finished the handshake. “If you don't mind me asking, why are you shopping alone?”

“I do this sometimes.” Billy shrugged. Then the kid realized that Clark didn't have a basket with him. “Don't you have anything to hold your items?” He asked.

“Ah, I’m actually not here to buy anything.” Mr. Kent said.

Billy looked at him in confusion.

“I’m a reporter, and I’m here for the Daily Planet.” The man explained.

Billy's blue eyes light up in realization. “Oh that's cool Mr. Kent! This place is really nice! It has really great items and food at a really good price! And the people who work here are very nice!” He said, hoping to help paint the shop in a good light.

However before any other words could be exchanged, an elderly woman appeared.

“If it isn't Billy Batson,” the woman cooed as she walked up to the boy. “It's been a while.”

She was a little old lady, a bit on the larger side, and she was wearing a long sleeved dress with floral designs on the bottom of the skirt. A pastel green apron was on top of the dress and a name tag was on the apron which said ‘Hello! My name is Maria!’. Her skin was tan, but wrinkled from age. Laugh lines were permanently on her face, showing that she had a long life filled with happiness while her brown eyes sparkled with joy at just seeing Billy. Her salt and peppered hair was up in a bun with a few strands of hair falling out, but it added class. She was a beautiful woman, and even now many a man, and woman, would ask for her hand if they didn't know she was already married.

“Hello Mrs. Rodrìguez.” Billy smiled at the elderly woman. She went and pinched his cheek, giving him a warm smile.

“It feels like it's been ages.” She told him. “Is your uncle not with you?” Mrs. Rodrìguez looked around for the man.

“No, it's just me,” the child shook his head.

“Shame that,” Maria put a hand on her cheek, “I would've loved to talk to that man.”

“I’m sure Uncle Dudley would've liked to talk to you too, but he had work today.” Billy informed her.

“Will it be the usual then?” Mrs. Rodrìguez asked, the twinkle in her eye shining a little more bright.

“Yes, but I was thinking of buying some ripe figs.” Billy said. He thought back to what Poison Ivy had told him about all the benefits of the fruit and was thinking that it would be a good idea to get them.

“Oh?” The lady was interested in this.

A cough brought the two’s attention. Mr. Kent had been standing there the whole convention.

Embarrassment flooded through Billy. He felt bad for ignoring the man he had just met and accidentally ignored.

“Are you that reporter I heard about?” Mrs. Rodrìguez looked at Mr. Kent with curiosity.

“Yes, I’m Clark Kent.” He confirmed.

Maria nodded, and continued to stare at the man, thinking. Finally she gave the man a question, “would you like to join us?”

“For what?” Mr. Kent asked back, wanting to know what he would join.

Billy, already knowing what the lovely lady would say, began to blush and said, “you don't have to if you don't want to.”

The man from Metropolis gave a soft chuckle. “Well, in order to know if I actually want to join or not, I need to know what I’m getting into.”

“Oh, nothing much,” Mrs. Rodrìguez waved it away. “Just joining Billy and I on grocery shopping.”

Clark rose an eyebrow.

“Ya see,” Billy started in order to explain, “it ended up as a tradition that if I go shopping here alone, one of the employees would help me find anything I need. It really helps if they did some rearranging.”

The reporter nodded, seeing how that would help the child. “Hmmm. Why not? I was doing an article about this place for the newspaper, and going about to shop would help me better grasp the feel of this place.”

Mrs. Rodrìguez beamed while Billy gave the man a small smile, still a tint of pink in his cheeks.

“Alright.” Mrs. Rodrìguez clapped her hands. “What do you plan on buying today? The figs are certainly new.” She directed this to the child.

Billy hummed in thought. “Well, maybe some dark chocolate? Some canned foods that have that tab thingy on it. And maybe some long lasting fruit and vegetables if possible.”

The woman nodded at the list. Seemed reasonable to her. “Would you like to go get the figs first?” She asked him.

“It would be nice, thank you.”

Mrs. Rodrìguez then started to walk, prompting the two males to do so as well.

“So what else do you sell here?” Clark asked Maria.

“Oh we sell seeds. Flower seeds, vegetable seeds, herbs, berries, fruits. Even trees. We also sell planks of wood, and soil. Pots.” Mrs. Rodrìguez continued to list what the store sold.

“Don't forget blankets and pillows.” Billy chirped up.

“Ah yes, thank you Billy.” The woman then stopped. “Here we are. Figs.”

There were quite a bit of figs to choose from, but Billy didn't know which one to take.

“How do you know which one is good?” He asked the employee.

“That's a very good question. See, figs are special because they don't continue to ripe after they're picked unlike those bananas there,” she pointed to the fruit in Billy's basket. “And the fig must be dry and clean with unbroken skin. It shouldn't feel mushy, much like a bruise on an apple, but it also shouldn't feel firm.”

Billy and Clark watched as Maria grabbed a fig from its display. They watch her examine it, and gave a face of satisfaction.

“See this fig here?” She asked, holding the fig out to the two.

Both nodded.

“This is a wonderful example of a ripe fig. No broken skin, completely dry, and clean. Here,” she held it out for Billy to take it which he did. “Now don't squeeze too hard.” She instructed.

Billy felt the fruit and noticed that it was soft but didn't really give.

“That's what a ripe dig should feel like. Mr. Kent, would you like to feel?” She asked.

Billy looked up to the man next to him, and held out the fruit for the man to take. Mr. Kent examined it, taking it in. He nodded in satisfaction, now understanding what Mrs. Rodrìguez was talking about. He then tried to give it back, but she held up her hand.

“Give it to Billy, I’m sure he would like to buy it.” She told him.

The ten year old gave a shy nod. “It would be most appreciated.”

Mr. Kent smiled, and gave the fig to Billy.

“Thank you.”

“Now,” Mrs. Rodrìguez spoke up, “the fig is sweet, but you shouldn't buy so much for just in case no one likes it.”

“Then how much should I buy?” Billy asked, tilting his head.

“That's a good question. Personally, one is much too little, but twelve is too much. Would you think four or five would do?” She questioned Billy.

The child hummed in thought once more. “Maybe four will be a good number. If people like it, I’ll buy more later.” He reasoned.

Maria smiled, accepting the answer she was given. “Well, let's find three more figs.”

With that, each person went to go find a fig in the display. Both Billy and Mr. Kent found adequate figs, Mrs. Rodrìguez found a fig that was just as good as the one she found the first time.

“Now you have your bananas and your figs. What’s next?” She asked Billy.

“Canned foods.” Billy spoke with certainty.

Once they were at the canned food aisle, Billy immediately went to go find the cans with the tabs.

“Here's some spam,” Mrs. Rodrìguez pointed to the cans.

“I found some vegetables in a can with the tab. That is what you wanted right?” Mr. Kent wanted to make sure.

Billy nodded and thanked the both of them for their help. Thanks to the extra set of hands, Billy was able to get the food he needed. Once they got what was on Billy's mental list for that section, they went up to the candy aisle.

“This is a new batch of dark chocolates.” Mrs. Rodrìguez said as she took the bag of chocolates off of the shelf. “This is a popular brand and we were sold out. Luckily for you, you're one of the first people to get this.” She winked at Billy.

“Gee, thanks Mrs. Rodrìguez!” Billy smiled at the grandmotherly woman.

“Oh it's no problem, Billy. With what you're doing I should be honored by just helping you.” She gave a mirthful laugh.

Once again a blush erupted upon Billy's face. “Oh I don't know about that…” he tried to protest. Honestly he would protest on any normal day, but when there was a _reporter_ listening to the conversation. He felt embarrassed.

“Oh nonsense. You're an inspiration young man. In fact, you have the kindest heart I have ever seen in my whole life.” She gave Billy a pointed look, not wanting him to argue.

Mr. Kent watched with amusement and curiosity.

Billy could feel the man's gaze and fled to the counter in order to buy his food.

The man was about to follow, but was held back by the elderly woman.

As Billy approached the cashier, the cashier perked up.

“As I live and breath! It's Billy Batson! How have you been doing young man?” The cashier was an elderly man with very dark skin and his hair was short and dark grey. He had wrinkles much like Mrs. Rodrìguez’s as he had laugh lines. His eyes were a dark brown which would look like amber if light hit it just right. His shirt was a white buttoned shirt and wore casual slacks while a green apron was on top. The apron was exactly like Mrs. Rodrìguez’s in color, but the name tag said that his name was ‘Wilford’.

“I'm doing well. How about you Mr. Jones?” Billy greeted the man. With a small huff, Billy put the heavy basket that was now filled to the brim with food onto the counter.

As Billy began to unpack the food onto the belt, he had small talk with Mr. Jones.

Mr. Jones was a kind old man, always loved to talk to the younger generation. He always said that since they were the future, he wanted to get to know the bright minds of tomorrow. He would talk about his experiences as a child and give out advice. Said to help teach the kids about the past and help them keep in mind the past mistakes of the world.

Mr. Jones was a good man.

“How's your garden?” Billy asked.

“Oh, it's doing quite well. I was thinking of making it a little bigger.” Mr. Jones said.

“Have you thought of adding oregano? My Uncle Dudley said it's good for you.” The child suggested.

Mr. Jones hummed. “I haven't thought of that, thank you Billy. Speaking of your Uncle Dudley, how is he?”

“He’s doing well, thank you. Right now he's at work.” Billy told him.

“Ah, working on a Sunday. I thought he didn't work on Sundays.”

“He got called in I guess. That or he’s filling for someone and forgot to tell me.” Billy then shrugged, as if to say ‘what do you do?’

“Understandable.” Mr. Jones replied. He took a look at the food, beginning to check them out. “I see you're out on your usual run then, huh?”

“Yep. I don't really have anything planned today, and the grocery jar looked full enough. So why not?”

After that they continued some small talk. Billy kept an eye on the price the whole while though. He didn't want to go over his budget.

“Alrighty then. It looks like your total would be up to $25.78.” Mr. Jones informed Billy.

The child nodded and went to grab the money from his pocket. He had $28.34; a good portion of it actually was actually coins.

“Here you go-” Billy was about to pay exactly the amount, but was interrupted by a large hand that held a twenty and a ten.

“Let me pay for it.” It was Mr. Kent.

Billy was gaping, not expecting the turn of events. “B-but…” he tried to protest. Key word: tried.

“Here you go, $30.” Mr. Kent gave the money to Mr. Jones who eyed the reporter.

“Thank you…?”

“Clark Kent.”

Mr. Jones’ eye lit up in recognition. “So you must be the reporter from the Daily Planet?”

“That's right.”

Mr. Jones nodded and went to get the money. “Here you go, $4.22 is your change.”

“Thank you sir.” Mr. Kent nodded and grabbed his change. He then helped Mr. Jones put the groceries into bags while Billy stood there.

Blinking out of his shock, Billy scrambled to grab the now full bags from the two men. “Thank you!” Billy said to both of them.

“It's no problem Billy. Just come on over anytime. I’m sure everyone else would be jealous of me and Maria because we actually had some time to talk to you.” Mr. Jones said with a knowing smile.

“I’ll try, Mr. Jones.” With that he waved, a little bit awkwardly due to the bags, and began to make his way out the store.

As Billy reached the exit, Mr. Kent walked up to him. Billy gave the man a questioning look. Clark had the decency to look sheepish as he gestured to Maria, who was watching the two of them.

“She wanted me to walk with you.” He explained.

The child ‘ah’ed in understanding. “Mrs. Rodrìguez somehow always manages to do this.” Billy said with a smile and a shake of his head. He then continued his way out of the store.

“Oh?” Mr. Kent spoke, keeping pace with the ten year old.

“She gets someone to walk with me when I do this. She says it helps widen people's world. I say she does it to try to protect me.” Billy shrugged.

“Well, I can understand the wanting to protect part. I would be worried if my kid went to go get food all alone.” Mr. Kent said. “I’m a bit more curious by the ‘widening people's world’ part.”

“You’ll see.” Was all Billy said.

The two walked for a while, mostly in silence. Billy didn't speak for he didn't know what to say. As for Mr. Kent, Billy didn't know. Perhaps the man was naturally the quiet type. Or perhaps he had a lot to say, but didn't know how to phrase them. Yes, it was a silent walk, but it didn't mean it was in any way awkward.

Okay, perhaps it was a little awkward, although it didn't mean that it was bad.

However, before the slightly awkward silence continued, they made it to their destination.

It was an abandoned subway station. As Billy walked in with purpose, Mr. Kent followed with confusion with a hint of worry.

“Hey everyone! I brought food!” Billy called out.

To Mr. Kent’s surprise, teens and a few adults walked out.

“Billy? Is that you?” One of the older people called in return with a raspy voice.

“Yep!” Billy then walked closer. “See, I got bananas, they're not ripe yet, figs, cans of a bunch of different food, and a bag of dark chocolate!”

“Uh, what the fu-” one teen began to say, only to get elbowed by another, “uh, I mean what the fridge is a fig?”

The teen who almost swore was a lanky red headed boy who looked like he needed a good shower, a good meal, and a good nap. His green eyes looked dull with the purple baggs that were underneath them. His hair was long, wild, and all and all looked like a rats nest.

The teen next to him (who had elbowed him when he was about to swear) looked like he could be the other’s twin, or at the very least a very twin like brother. Only he looked more well kept and didn't have as harsh of baggs under his set of greenish blue eyes. His own red hair was short and actually looked like it was friends with a brush.

“Why, this is a fig!” Billy exclaimed as he went to go get the fruit out of its respective bag.

“Is it good?” Another teen, the one who looked like the youngest, asked.

This teen was petite, but that might've been either because of genetics or malnutrition. Her skin was an unhealthy pale, but her hazel eyes shone with a fire to continue on, showing that she wouldn't go down without a fight. Her wavy light brown hair was held up in a high ponytail, and freckles danced around her face.

“I dunno,” Billy shrugged. “Never ate one before. Heard that they're sweet and really good for you.”

She nodded in satisfaction.

“Eh, I’ll take one. I’ve always wanted to try a fig.” The adult who spoke first, the one with the raspy voice walked up.

His beard was a scraggly dark brown, and nearly covered all of his face. He wore a hat and a hoodie so his facial features were hard to distinguish. Although he did look like he had a beer belly.

“Here you go,” Billy held out the fruit to the man.

The man gently grabbed it and took a bite out of it. He hummed in satisfaction and continued to eat.

“It's that good eh?” Another adult, this one sitting down, away from the group asked.

And with that, people began to swarm Billy.

“I only have three left of the figs! I didn't know if anyone would like it, so I only bought four!” Billy shouted, in order for everyone to hear.

Eventually they all calmed down, and Billy passed all the food to everyone in the station.

“We’ll share this with the others when they return!” A teen spoke.

“Oh and next time, tell Abuela we said hi!” Another said.

“Don't worry, I will!” Billy waved them goodbye.

When the child turned around to walk out of the building, he was greeted by the stunned face of Clark Kent. If Billy were being honest, he had totally forgot about the man.

“Why don't we have a talk.” Mr. Kent suggested.

“Um. Sure.”

As Billy and Clark walked down a random street, Clark began to slowly go into reporter mode.

“So you buy food for the homeless?” Was the first thing that came out of Mr. Kent’s mouth. People would feel like it was a stupid question, as Mr. Kent saw first hand that Billy does indeed do that. However, he would like to confirm, that yes, this is a thing that Billy does, in what could be considered his spare time.

“Only when I have enough money to buy them food.” The child confirmed. He then looked at Mr. Kent in the eye and said, “which I got to thank you for Mr. Kent. Since you bought the groceries, I’ll have enough to buy some more soon.”

“It was no problem,” Mr. Kent tried to wave it away, “it was the least I could do when you helped me understand that general store better.”

“It's no problem, you were there to write an article about it right? So I would be happy to know that people would learn how cool it is.”

Mr. Kent didn't speak for a moment, thinking of what to say next. “Why do you do it?”

Billy hummed in thought. “Well, they're hungry right? And they don't exactly have the money to buy food, but since I do, why wouldn't I help them out?” He had spoken so surely, that in his mind, anyone could have done what he did. But then Billy stopped walking. “You don't plan on making this into an article, are you?”

Mr. Kent stopped as well, and didn't speak for a moment. “I didn't intended for something like this when I came to Fawcett City, but if you don't want me to write about this, I would understand.”

Billy shook his head. “No, in fact I think if you did write an article, it would probably let people more… acknowledged? Yeah acknowledged about the homeless situation and try to get that all sorted out. After all, everyone deserves a home and a warm meal.”

Mr. Kent nodded.

“But if you do write it…” Billy faulted, not really knowing if he should truly ask of it. Finally Billy gained the courage to speak. “Could you please not put my name or my picture in it?”

Mr. Kent blinked, but then smiled. “If that's what you want, then I won't put your name or picture in it. You’ll remain anonymous.”

Billy's eyes lit up, and he smiled in turn. “Thank you Mr. Kent!”

* * *

 

When all was said and done with the impromptu interview, Billy was on his way home. As he walked he began to think.

 _‘I really should have a way to get more money. It takes too long to buy enough for everyone there,’_ he contemplated. _‘I’m not sure selling newspapers would be enough.’_ He sighed. A rather large gust of wind blew, smacking a newspaper into his face.

That in itself was strange as it wasn't a windy day. However when Billy took the newspaper off of his face, he saw an article about how one Bruce Wayne built a rather nice homeless shelter that put all other homeless shelters to shame. It was then that Billy knew what he he had to do.

“Thank you Aeolus, sir!” Billy exclaimed into the wind, knowing that the wind would carry his words to the intended.

He then began to run all the way home. Once there, practically threw the door open, and slammed it closed. Hurriedly, he went to go try to find some clean paper and a pencil. When he found some, Billy made a sound of triumph. He then ran into his room, slapped the paper on his desk, and was in his chair, ready to write.

It had to be absolutely perfect. His handwriting had to be neat and legible, and there were no room for errors of spelling. This letter had the highest of importance. If it were to be graded, then it had to get an A+.

But he drew a blank. No words came to his mind.

“This might be harder than I thought…” Billy spoke to himself.

Hours later, nearing the time Captain Marvel should be at the Watchtower, the only words Billy managed to write down was ‘Dear Mr. Bruce Wayne’ and he was wondering if he should keep the ‘Mr.’ part of it in or not. Would it be considered polite to have it in or was it improper for a formal letter to have that in?

He didn't know and he had to leave. With a groan, Billy left his room, waved his uncle goodbye (he never noticed the man come home) and head over to an isolated spot that was different from last time.

It was the back of an abandoned building, a place where hardly anyone goes, yet Billy still searched around to see if there was anyone where there shouldn't be or any _things_ that shouldn't be there either. It was a thorough search, and he felt satisfaction when he found nothing. So he spoke his magic word and transformed.

Quickly, he made his way to the zeta tube and done what he has done many times before.

The moment he was in the Watchtower, he saw Superman.

“Oh, hello!” Captain Marvel greeted while rapidly blinking. It was rather unexpected to see the hero.

“Captain Marvel,” Superman nodded as he walked closer to the man, “you’ cutting it close.”

Captain Marvel rubbed the back of his neck while he fought off a blush. “Ah, well, I was working on something and lost track of time.”

“That's understandable, but try not to make this a habit.” Superman told him, letting him off the hook with a small smile.

It was then that something struck through Captain Marvel. Superman looked awfully familiar, which was odd since Captain Marvel has obviously seen and interacted with Superman before.

The Man of Steel noticed the strange look on the Captain’s face.

“Is anything wrong?” He ask.

Captain Marvel shook his head. “No. I just might be imagining it.”

Superman studied Marvel for a moment, before accepting this. He soon then left, having to do his own business, which left Captain Marvel to go on his.

As the Captain walked to meet Black Canary in the training room, his mind wouldn't leave Superman’s face alone.

He had looked very familiar when he had smiled, and Captain Marvel didn't know why.

“Captain Marvel!” Black Canary called out. “Thought you would never come.”

“And miss out an opportunity to learn martial arts with _the_ Black Canary? I don't think so.” Captain Marvel replied.

See, what had happened was that Black Canary noticed that Captain Marvel didn't really have a… decent fighting style. Sure he has a punch just as good as Superman’s, if not better, but he didn't have anything that would help him if his strength failed him. So Black Canary offered to teach him martial arts as a sort of fail safe if his strength truly fails.

Captain Marvel obviously took the offer. It could help him for when he's Billy.

So it was in the middle of the lesson did Captain Marvel remembered where he had seen that same face Superman had made before. He became so distracted that Black Canary flipped him over.

“Captain?” She leaned over him, realizing that her student’s mind went elsewhere.

“I, uh, fine. I’m fine.” He told her.

It had all clicked into place and everything somehow made sense.

Glasses. Superman's defense against people knowing who he truly was was glasses.

“I just remembered the name of a reporter I saw in Fawcett City today.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's this? An update? Surprise beach, thought you saw the last of me. Nah though, I planed on having a "write two chapters, so then when I start working on the third I can post the first one so then I can keep going for a little while." But as you can see it didn't happen. But I started on a chapter 5! Heck yeah man! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Whither or not it was the Wisdom of Solomon that had made the connection, Billy wasn't sure. However that realization left him in a daze for the rest of the day (except he was coherent enough for a little bit to go back home for a slice of pie, back to the Watchtower, and give it to Black Canary as thanks) and followed him into the next.

“Hey,” Freddy Freeman, Billy's best friend, waved his hand in Billy's face with clear worry on his own. “You there?”

Billy blinked rapidly. “Um. Yes?”

“Billy.” Freddy’s face fell flat. “You’ve been out of it all day. Did you even realize that school's over?”

“Wait what?!” Billy jumped out of his chair.

“Yeah! It was like watching a robot going on autopilot!” Freddy confirmed. “Pretty freaky if you ask me.”

Billy just stared at his friend. Just what has his life become? He met with Batman _twice_ as Billy Batson, had _Poison Ivy_ teach him about poisonous plants as Billy Batson, _and_ he met with the secret identity of Superman. Who he was interviewed by. As _Billy Batson_.

Billy shook his head and said, “it's nothing.”

“Billy, that was not ‘nothing’.” Freddy gave him a look. “What happened?

“My mind was just thinking about stuff.”

“Okay.” Freddy said slowly, not sure if he believed what Billy said. “If you're sure. Anyway did ya hear?”

“Hear what?” Billy asked. He then started to get his stuff, remembering that the school day was done.

“That a reporter came from the Daily Planet in Metropolis to Fawcett!” Freddy had spoken with enthusiasm.

“Oh? Actually yeah. I think it had to do with the general store we have.” Billy didn't just hear about it, he met him.

“Really?” Freddy scrunched up his nose and walked with Billy to their lockers. “People have been saying it was about the Angel of Fawcett.”

It was Billy's turn to have his face scrunch up in confusion. “The what now?”

“The Angel of Fawcett! Don't tell me you don't know about the Angel!”

“Ok. I know about the angel.”

Freddy groaned.

“What! You told me not to tell you that I didn't know!”

“Billy, Billy, Billy. What am I going to do with you?” Freddy shook his head and sighed. He then ruffled Billy's hair, seemingly to mock Billy as Freddy was taller than him.

“Oh come on!” Billy swatted the hand away with fake irritation. Soon enough the two broke out laughing as they arrived to their lockers.

“Oh yeah, I also heard that there's a circus coming over soon.” Freddy said with a grin as he put his stuff in his backpack.

“Holy moly! Really?” Billy's smile stretched across his face. “I haven't been to a circus in ages!”

“Then you wanna go with me on Friday after school?” Freddy asked.

“Yeah! Oh boy we haven't done something like this in like forever!” Billy cheered. His demeanor then dampened. “Sorry about that.”

Freddy gave the other boy a quizzical look. But then he realized what Billy was talking about. “Hey man, it's ok. I understand that you have a lot on your plate.”

Billy still looked like a kicked puppy.

“Look at it this way, going to the circus would give us time to catch up.” Freddy gave the shorter boy a smile.

This rose Billy's spirits. “Yeah.”

* * *

 

As Captain Marvel went around Fawcett City for a little patrol, he had a lot to think about. Batman, Superman/Clark Kent, writing that letter to Bruce Wayne, Freddy. Even Ms. Floros.

It seemed Batman didn't really liked Captain Marvel lately, but this could have always been the case and only now Captain Marvel have been noticing it. There's also the fact that Batman probably thinks Billy has a connection to villains or something like that because of that little trip to Poison Ivy's place. Captain Marvel wouldn't be surprised if Batman found out that the woman that took Billy there and back was Ms. Floros.

The mighty mortal just hopes Batman doesn't think Ms. Floros is a villain. Because she isn't. She's just a goddess in disguise is all.

With the whole Superman/Clark Kent thing, he felt like it should've been obvious, but at the same time it felt clever. Because really. Glasses. And who would expect Superman to be a reporter? But also, there was a suspicion that Batman put Superman up to going to Fawcett. But if it were true that Superman was to go there for his job as Clark Kent, then it was one heck of a coincidence for him to meet Billy Batson in that store.

For the letter to Bruce Wayne, Billy still hasn't thought of a good way to phrase _anything_ so it didn't sound, well, awful. He didn't want to sound childish, or greedy, or incompetent, or anything like that. He wanted to sound like a professional and have his handwriting look very well. So Billy might have to practice writing quite a bit. Maybe in cursive. Because isn't cursive what people write in when writing letters? Especially if they're important?

With Freddy, Billy truly felt bad for not hanging out with his friend. He was always doing something as either Billy Batson or Captain Marvel. Hopefully when Friday came, he'll get to have some quality time with his best friend.

As he flew by a random street, he heard someone call him. He looked down to see a little girl wearing a fluffy pastel dress waving at him. It looked like she wanted him to get closer. So he flew down to see what she wanted.

“My kitty, Mr. Bean Toes, is in the tree,” she pointed to the tree she was standing next to, “could you pretty please get him down?”

He smiled at her. “Don't worry, I will.” He then floated closer to the tree, trying to find the cat. Once he did, he found an elderly cat that lost an eye. Seeing no other cat, Captain Marvel slowly went closer to the cat.

The cat looked rather comfortable and didn't hiss at the magical man. No, it took being cradled in stride and even began to purr in his arms. As he floated to the ground, he asked the little girl, “is this your cat?”

“Mr. Bean Toes!” She cried with glee, arm outstretched to the cat. “You naughty kitty, I was so scared! I thought you would never get down!”

“I’m sure Mr. Bean Toes didn't mean to scare you.” Captain Marvel told the girl soothingly. “Now you should probably get on home.”

The girl nodded, long curly black hair flying every which way. She then turn and ran, most likely towards her house.

“Mr. Bean Toes. That's an adorable name.” A male voice spoke.

Captain Marvel turned his head slightly and saw a curtain speedster.

“Oh hey Flash! What's up?” He asked.

“I wanted to say hi. That and I heard Black Canary talking to Green Arrow about Fawcett’s best pie. Wanted to see if it was true.” The Flash shrugged.

“Well, I know just the place.” Captain Marvel flashed him a smile.

* * *

 

“Ok, so this place has the best pie I ever had.” Captain Marvel explained to Flash as they both walked into the Blue Bell Diner.

“Hello!” Jasmine called. Her smiling face morphed into one of pleasant surprise. “Captain Marvel and The Flash! What can I do for you two?”

“Two slices of mixed berry pie please,” Captain Marvel smiled at her as he sat down on a stool.

“Coming right up!” She then turned to tell her brother the order.

“Nice atmosphere you got going on here,” The Flash complement with a smile to the owner. Although she didn't see it as she was still talking to her twin.

“It's very welcoming.” Captain Marvel agreed.

They then sat in silence as The Flash was soaking everything in, the Captain was letting himself relax a bit in the calm diner; Jasmine was doing her best to get things done and not let the fact that two heroes were in her diner get her so nervous, and Jasper was getting the pie ready. It was peaceful.

Once the moment the plates of pie were sat in front of the two supers, The Flash took a bite of his pie.

“Oh my god.” He managed to say through the fork and pie. “This is the best.”

Marvel grinned. “See? It's _the_ most amazing pie ever!”

If one were to see Flash’s eyes, they would see stars sparkling within them.

Captain Marvel watched with amusement at the man, seeing how he was torn between savoring it and eating it all at once, whilst eating his own slice of pie.

“You know if you eat it slowly, you’ll get to taste it longer.” He pointed out.

“Yes, but…” the fast man trailed off.

“It's the greatest thing since sliced bread right?” Captain Marvel joked.

“Yep.” Flashed popped the ‘p’.

Captain Marvel shook his head and continued to eat his pie; smiling whilst doing so.

And so they sat, eating their pie.

“So you told Canary about the pie?” Flash asked his fellow hero.

“Mmhm.” The captain nodded. “Got her a slice too, as a thank you for her help.”

The Flash set a thoughtful gaze upon Captain Marvel as the black haired man ate his desert.

“Ya know,” he couldn't help but begin to say, “there's something about you…” he trailed off.

“Uh. Something about me?” Marvel sent a questioning look to the other. “I hope it's good.” He tried to joke.

“Oh, sorry. Yeah it's good.” Flash apologized. “It's just.” He tried to explain. “You have this… air about you.”

“‘Air about me?’” He repeated, rather confused.

The Flash huffed and shook his head. “Maybe I’m not saying this right.”

They were quite for a moment longer, both gathering their thoughts. The employees of the establishment did their best to ignore the conversation as if not concern them and it was quite the polite thing to do.

With a snap of his fingers, The Flash said, “sunny!”

“Bwha?” The mighty mortal’s face was filled with bewilderment.

“You’re sunny. Like, your personality and you pretty much light up the room when you walk in.”

Captain Marvel looked at his (would they even be called coworkers? They don't get paid) coworker in somewhat worry. “Thanks?”

“Sorry,” Flash apologized again, “it's just, you tend to brighten up the situation. You end up giving people their smiles back when they hardly have anything to smile about. And the kids absolutely adore you. It's like you know what they want.”

The boy disguised as a man couldn't help but laugh. _‘If only you knew.’_ He thought.

“Man, I guess I never thought it about that way. I’m just trying to help out is all. I try to make sure everyone is okay, even if it's the little things, because the little things stack up you know? Even if I can no longer help someone out in the long run, I can certainly try to keep the little things there to give them a smile, no matter how small it is. Even if I wish it was bigger.”

His answer seemed to please the fastest man alive as the two continued their slices in peace. Once they were done, it was The Flash who paid for it even against the protest of a few. Captain Marvel wanted to pay for it, as he felt like he should pay for the treat since it was a treat, and Jasmine and her brother wanted to show their respect and thought that it was best to show their hospitality and thankfulness through this way. It ended up with Flash not only paid the bill, but gave a rather nice tip for any and all employees to take.

“You really don't have to…” Jasmine weakly protested one last time.

“Nah. It's a really nice place and I think I’ll come here again. Might bring Kid Flash here. He really likes pie.” He flashed her a smile. “See ya around.”

And with that both heroes left the diner.

* * *

 

Captain Marvel and The Flash talked a little bit, both doing little things to help the populace as nothing big was going on. Eventually Flash had to leave and go back to his city.

“Make sure everything’s okay.” He had said.

Not long after did Captain Marvel notice the time; he had to go home.

 **“Shazam!”** He cried once he was at a safe destination where no one could see him or be recorded. Out walked orphan Billy Batson from the forest riddled abandoned train station.

“Maybe I should make a garden here.” He thought aloud to himself.

The abandoned train station was on the outskirts of town, on the other side of where the abandoned fireworks factory was. It was right next to a forest and it had been there a long time before even Billy’s grandparents and it had been abandoned for what could be even longer. It had an air about it of it being there since the beginning of the Earth and it will continue to be there long after. Which was impossible, but there might've been a spell casted on the area so who knows.

Tall trees of all kinds grew from inside and out of the building, roots tearing apart the railroad tracks. Wildflowers of all colors dotted the lawn and rotted floor boards. Leaves from a vine of some sort crawled down and up the walls of both the interior and exterior. Multiple berry bushes were scattered about while birds sang songs in their nests and from the branches above. Billy thinks there's even bats in the rafters of the station.

The station itself was once a grand building. It still is, but in a different way, for all the greenery that had attached itself to the scene.

Billy liked to imagine what it was once like, before it became abandoned. For it was a large station, meant to help out weary travelers. There was many areas where it looked like shops would be in order to change wears and to get a chance with new people constantly coming in and out. Tables, chairs, and benches were strewn about. Some fallen over, some still standing tall. Great pillars grew into broken clocks that once was accurate when it came to telling time. The paint had faded far too much on the walls to tell what color it used to be. The floor and ceiling was made out of wood, that much he was sure of. The ceiling was broken by time, weather, and plant life; having sunlight filtering through to brighten up the darkened place. What actual windows were there were dirtied, but somehow not as much as the paint on the walls so Billy could tell that once upon a time, stain glass brought in a rainbow of colors into greeting for anyone arriving and in goodbye to those leaving.

He wasn't sure if the building could be fixed, for people to live in it, but the area is filled to the brim for opportunity to have a garden. Because even if it wasn't due to a spell, the earth thrived. And yet… it's because of this it might not be a good idea to have a garden. There's a chance that Billy wouldn't be able to maintain it and it would grow wild. And with the possibility of introducing plants that are not native to the area? Billy knew that doing so would harm not only the local flora, but the fawna. He could very well disrupt the balance that had been created here.

He doesn't want to do that.

With a sigh and a shake of his head he walked away from the fairytale like place. He walked, and walked, and walked down a path that only he knows at this point. And as he continued, ever so slowly did the trees began to fade into scattered houses. Scattered houses turned into neighborhoods. Neighborhoods grew into apartment buildings and then he was home.

And in that moment before he enters the building, he turns to look where he came from. It was a moment of looking into what could be. But then something strange happened. He suddenly saw a yellow dot grew larger at an extremely alarming rate. And it was coming towards him.

Wind whipped his hair away from his eyes and he almost felt like he was going to fly away. But he didn't. Instead he saw a teen in a costume similar to the Flash’s only the colors was in reverse and he had goggles.

“Kid Flash?!” He blanched. First Flash and now his young protégé in fighting crime?

“Thank you!” Kid Flash threw up his hands into the sky. He looked… happy. “Now why can't more people be like you? The name isn't so hard to remember right?”

“Ummm. Yeah?” Billy had no idea what was going on.

“I like you kid,” okay that was straight forward, “and I have a question.”

“Uh. Shoot.” Might as well right?

“Have you seen Flash? I think I heard him talking about this place, but I haven't seen him so I thought he might be here.”

Wait really?

Billy put a finger to his chin. “Well… I did see a red blur so that might've been him. But I don't think he's here anymore.”

Kid Flash slumped his shoulders. “Aw man.” He whined.

The young child felt bad for the hero in training. There wasn't much he could do as Billy. But… he took a quick glance at the position of the sun and estimated what time it was.

He was probably going to regret this.

“Do you want to stay for dinner? I don't know exactly what's being cooked, but I’m sure my uncle would be glad to have you over.” Billy offered.

The teen before him gave him a surprise look, then one of conflict. “As tempting as that sounds, I don't think I should.” He tried.

Billy nodded. “I understand. But you could always have a little something to tie you over until later right? And I still need to ask my uncle first.  
So if he says no then it wouldn't be a problem right?” He tried to convince.

He liked Kid Flash. The league is cool and all, but the heroes in training were closer to him in age. It would be nice, in his eyes, to hang out.

Although this _might_ add more attention to Billy Batson than he would like. And yet he didn't want a fellow hero to starve.

Kid made a strangled noise before saying, “okay we can go ask your uncle. But if he says no, then it's perfectly fine. No need to pressure _anyone_ to do anything.”

Billy beamed. “Okay!” He chirped.

Kid Flash made another strangled noise. He then shook his head and sighed, all with a smile. “Alright, alright. Let's just get going before I change my mind.”

The child nodded his head then turned to actually go into the building. “Follow me please.” He said.

They went inside and went passed the information desk. The lady working looked up and smiled at Billy, but then did a double take at the teen behind him. She blinked multiple times before shaking her head with a fond smile.

“You didn't forced him to have dinner with you young man?” She asked, hazel eyes shining with mirth.

Billy pouted. “I did no such thing! I invited him over.”

She chuckled and shook her head, dark brown curls bouncing along with her. “Whatever you say Batson.”

The child blushed and began to power walk to the elevator. Kid Flash was not far behind. Once they made it to the elevator, Billy pressed his floor’s button.

Silence. And then…

“Batson huh?” Was spoken with snickers.

Okay maybe it was a bad idea to invite him over.

“I promise you, it's just my last name. I have no relation to Batman _whatsoever_.” Billy cleared the air. “Oh and my name's Billy. Sorry for not introducing myself earlier.”

“Nah it's all good.” He waved it away. Then he said with a grin, “I’m Kid Flash, but you already knew that.”

Billy grinned back, and it even grew when he heard the words, “man that's good to say.”

Finally they made it to their destination and Billy walked down the hallway. He opened the door, held it opened for his guest, then went inside.

“Billy, you’re back.” He heard Uncle Dudley say from the kitchen. “Just in time too, I made ham steak with mashed potatoes, corn, and gravy.”

“It sounds delicious! Hey Uncle Dudley, is it okay if someone stays over for dinner?” He asked while taking off his shoes.

Uncle Dudley was silent for a moment. The older man then had actually walked over to where his nephew was. His face was blank. He was also wearing an apron obviously created by a child that said ‘#1 uncle’.

“You know,” he started, “the last time you said that you brought over Twany.”

Billy groaned. “But I don't see what's the big deal! He's a gentleman and he adores your cooking!”

“Billy.” Dudley’s tone was flat. “He’s a tiger.”

Behind the child, Kid Flash made some sort of noise. Perhaps choking on spit.

The man sighed before he looked at the red head with a smile. “You can stay here for as long as you like. I accidentally made too much for just Billy and me anyways.”

This made the child beam. He took Kid’s hand and brought him over to the table. Then he went to help his uncle out by setting the table and bringing out the food.

“It smells so good!” Billy finally said as he sat down.

“It better be good.” Dudley said as he did the same thing.

“I bet it's good!” Billy continued, giving the man a grin.

Kid Flash watched the two at the exchange. He smiled a little, before digging in.

His eyes grew wide. “Mhhmfnhmm.” He muffled through the food in his mouth.

Billy and Dudley blinked.

The speedster quickly chewed and swallowed his food to say, “it's delicious!”

A grin and a smile were his reactions.

The youngest out of the three took a bite and hummed in agreement. “I think you outdone yourself this time Uncle Dudley.” He had said once he finished the food that was in his mouth.

“It's nothing special.” The man shrugged. “It's easy to whip up.”

“But still, it's really good Mr. Batson.” Kid Flash said. This made the other two stop. The hero in training stopped as well, wondering what happened. “Um. Did I say something wrong?”

It was uncle Dudley that shook out of it first. “No, no. It's okay. My name is actually Dudley H. Dudley, believe it or not.”

Kid Flash hummed and nodded. “Sorry about that.” He apologized sheepishly while rubbing the back of his neck.

“No, really, it's okay. You didn't know.” Billy gave the teen a little strained smile. “You didn't know.” This time, those three words were spoken softer.

The atmosphere quickly grew awkward as they ate. No one really spoke until Kid Flash cleared his throat and asked, “so… a tiger.”

Billy blinked. “Oh! Are you talking about Tawny?”

Kid nodded.

Dudley sighed and shook his head.

“Okay so we have a zoo right?” Billy began to explain. “And Tawny is the tiger that sometimes lives there.”

“Wait sometimes? Isn't that, ya know, a hazard?” Kid Flash blanched.

“He comes and goes. And he isn't bad. He just sorta does his own thing. Never hurt anyone ya know? He always comes back.”

The teen didn't looked all that convinced.

“Anyway, one day I bumped into Tawny when he was out and about and I asked him if he wanted to have dinner with me and he was okay with it. So I brought him over and Uncle Dudley made steak that day and Tawny likes steak so it would be rude to not let him have any. Unfortunately he couldn't exactly use a chair, but he was okay with not sitting on it, because he's big enough to eat at the table without any problems ya know? And he really does have good table manners, so personally I would invite him over again. After that we turned the tv on for him to watch a little while he digested his food and while we washed the dishes. Eventually he had to leave so I walked him back to the front of the building and said that I’ll see him later.”

Not only was Kid Flash digesting his own food, but he was digesting the whole story.

“Wait wait wait. You just. Invited a tiger for dinner and your uncle let you?” His voice rose an octave while he spoke this. “Is that even legal?”

The white haired man sighed heavily. “In my defense I don't think it was a good idea. Unfortunately Billy has a stubborn streak.”

“Hey!” The black haired child pouted. “Tawny is a good guy! He doesn't attack people unless they were going to hurt him or others, and he doesn't eat people! He thinks they taste gross.”

That didn't seem to appease Kid Flash.

“That's… definitely a story.” He managed to get out.

It was certainly something that's for sure.

It also was what broke the ice. Kid Flash and Billy got along swimmingly, asking things like favorite colors, favorite animals, things of that sort. Nothing too revealing on Kid Flash’s end as Billy and Dudley respect Kid Flash’s secret identity and over all privacy.

They ended up finishing most of the food, leaving leftovers for the next day in three containers.

“Um,” Kid Flash had started after seeing the third container, “who’s that for?” He asked.

“It's for you!” Billy said with a smile. He held it out for the teen to take.

The young speedster was surprised. He then gave the younger one a smile of his own and took the container. “Okay now I definitely have to come back to give this back.”

Billy's smile grew. “You're welcome to come over for dinner anytime!” He said.

“And for once I agree.” Uncle Dudley joked from the kitchen. “As long as you don't turn into a tiger in the middle of dinner.”

“Uncle Dudley!” Billy gasped. “How dare!”

Kid Flash just burst out laughing at this. “Ya know what? I really like you.” He said before ruffling Billy’s hair.

“Thanks for the dinner you guys. I’ll be back to return this okay? See ya later!” And with that, Kid Flash speed out of the building.

Billy beamed at the door. “That went well, don't you think?” He asked while turning his head to his uncle.

“Yes, but you really need to plan these things in advance.” Was his reply.

Together, the little family washed up the dishes, clean the table, and got ready for bed.

Life was certainly getting interesting in the crazy world that belongs to Billy Batson.

* * *

 

Freddy slapped his hands onto Billy's desk, face bright with excitement. “I got the tickets!” He nearly shouted.

Billy blinked. Then it hit him like a bullet train. “Holy moly really?!”

The blond boy’s grin was almost splitting his face in two. “Heck yeah! I got them and we can go this Friday! It's going to be so cool!”

Matching grins mirrored each other. Both were bursting with glee at the thought of getting together after so long. This was in need for a celebration, which in itself, is another reason to get together.

“Wanna go for some pie later?” Billy asked.

“You just read my mind.”

* * *

 

Together the duo had enough money for two slices of pie and the rest would be tips. Anything to help their favorite diner.

“Man it feels like ages since I’ve been here.” Freddy said. “Thank goodness that your uncle and my grandpa let us go here together.”

“Yeah! He's really happy that we're hanging out.”

“You could say that again!”

“Sure. He's really happy that we're hanging out.” Billy gave a grin, making Freddy groan with a small smile of his own on his face.

“Man you can be so cheesy.”

Billy shrugged. “What can I say?”

“That you like cheese way too much. Where are you from? Wisconsin?”

“We _are_ in Wisconsin! And In our defense we know our cheese. And besides, everyone knows if you want cheese it's gotta be from Wisconsin! Where are you from? California?”

The two looked at each other with serious faces. A moment passed before the broken into laughter.

A face popped out of the kitchen window.

“Did I hear the sound of children laughing?” It was Jasper.

“No! You heard the sound of babies crying!” Freddy said.

“Lame. Everyone knows that children laughing is way better than babies crying.”

As Freddy and Jasper continued to banter, Billy's mind wandered over to the problem of the possible garden. He wanted to do it, so then there would be more free food. Unfortunately there wasn't any plants that he knew that was native to the area.

Maybe he could go to the library? Or maybe ask the people who work at a floral shop. They would know. Right? He wasn't sure.

And he was just poked in the cheek.

“Huah?” He turned his head to see it was Freddy.

“What's up? You're thinking hard.” He poked Billy’s cheek again.

Billy swatted the offending finger away. “I was not. Just thinking about what to do. I want to make a garden but there's only one place I have in mind. But since it's like, out in the forest it's probably not really a good idea. Especially since I don't know what to plant ya know?” He explained.

Freddy tilted his head. He then tapped his chin. “Well,” he drew out the word, “maybe we could use the abandoned golf course.”

The younger boy blinked in confusion. “Wait we have a golf course?”

“ _Abandoned_ golf course.” Freddy corrected. “Apparently my grandpa used to play there, but then it shut down. Same with the summer clubhouse or whatever that's with it.”

Billy furrowed his eyebrows together, as he thought about it.

Then, not unlike his magical lightning, an idea struck him.

“That's it!” He exclaimed, jumping off of his stool. “Thanks Freddy! I owe ya one!”

Billy was filled with so much joy and excitement he couldn't help but give Freddy a kiss on the cheek in appreciation. He quickly turned to run out the diner, only stopping short from the door to yell, “you can give your grandpa my slice of pie. Tell him I said hi!”

And then he was gone.

He never noticed Freddy blinking rapidly, hand on cheek, and face flushed. Nor did he noticed Freddy asking no one in particular, in a daze, “did he just kissed me?”

Or the fact that Jasper gave Freddy a shit eating grin.

* * *

 

As Billy Batson, he ran as fast as he could to the general store, knowing just who to ask to find where the golf course was.

The boy wouldn't fly as Captain Marvel over something like this. No, Captain Marvel was for protecting the city and the world. Certainly not for making things more convenient.

So the boy just ran quite fast, not once resting all the while.

Soon enough he made it inside the store. With heavy breaths, he looked around. His eyes shifted between customers to employees. Nope.

He walked down further. Of course he waved greetings waved away any concerned looks with a smile.

Then, in the back, he saw them. The person he needed. He watched as they waved at a customer goodbye.

“Dorian!”

He watched as they turned to him, and smiled.


End file.
